Cardiac asystole masquerading as temporal lobe epilepsy

Episodic behavior associated with impairment of consciousness is a protean clinical manifestation that may suggest a wide range of medical or neurologic disorders. We describe a patient whose symptoms of an epigastric 'aura' followed by loss of consciousness suggested temporal lobe epilepsy. The episodic behavior was refractory to antiepileptic drug therapy. Prolonged video-electroencephalographic monitoring confirmed that the clinical events were cardiogenic related to asystole. Antiepileptic drug therapy was discontinued, and a cardiac pacemaker was inserted. The clinical patterns that distinguish syncope from seizures and the importance of prolonged videoelectroencephalographic monitoring are discussed.