Seizure
| Seizure | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Epileptic fit, epileptic seizure, fit, convulsions |
| Generalized 3 Hz spike and wave discharges in an electroencephalogram (EEG) of a patient with epilepsy | |
| Specialty | Neurology, emergency medicine |
| Symptoms | Variable |
| Complications | Falling, drowning, car accidents, pregnancy complications, emotional health issues |
| Duration | Typically less than 2 minutes |
| Types | Focal, generalized; provoked, unprovoked |
| Causes | Provoked: Low blood sugar, alcohol withdrawal, low blood sodium, fever, brain infection, traumatic brain injury Unprovoked: Flashing lights or colors, unknown causes, previous stroke, brain injury, brain tumor |
| Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms, blood tests, medical imaging, electroencephalography |
| Differential diagnosis | Syncope, psychogenic seizure, migraine aura, transient ischemic attack |
| Treatment | Less than 5 min: Place person on their side, remove nearby dangerous objects More than 5 min: Treat as status epilepticus |
| Frequency | ≈10% of people (lifetime risk) |
A seizure is a sudden disruption of brain activity caused by excessive, synchronized neuronal firing that results in changes in behavior. This neurological condition is common, affecting approximately 50 million individuals around the world.
Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, or consciousness. Symptoms vary widely. Some seizures involve subtle changes, such as brief lapses in attention or awareness (as seen in absence seizures), while others cause generalized convulsions with loss of consciousness (tonic–clonic seizures). Most seizures last less than two minutes and are followed by a postictal period of confusion, fatigue, or other symptoms. Status epilepticus is a medical emergency consisting of a seizure that lasts longer than five minutes, or multiple seizures without full recovery between episodes.
Seizures are classified as provoked when they are triggered by a known cause such as fever, acute head trauma, or metabolic imbalance. Unprovoked seizures occur when no immediate trigger is identified. Recurrent unprovoked seizures define the neurological condition epilepsy.