Signi†cance of Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a very common brain disorder, and it is estimated that about 5.5 million people around the world suffer from it. The general population with active epilepsy (i.e., continuing seizures) at a given time is 4-10 per 1,000 people in industrialized nations and 6-10 per 1,000 in developing countries. In the industrialized nations, annual new cases are 40-70 per 100,000 people, with twice those numbers in developing countries (WHO, 2009). Epilepsy may occur in any age group, but the incidence is higher in infants and the elderly (MacDonald et al., 2000).