Effect of Anticonvulsant Therapy for Absence Epilepsy on Heart Function

Monitoring of the heart status during increasing stress-induced load allowed us to evaluate heart function after treatment of absence epilepsy with anticonvulsants of various types of action. Functional load against the background of treatment with lamotrigine or convulex had different effects on the dynamics of heart rate variability, hemodynamic parameters of the heart, and risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. The decrease in hemodynamic parameters and ischemic changes in the myocardium after convulex therapy occurred at a lower functional load associated with more pronounced reduction in parasympathetic tone and heart rate variability than after lamotrigine therapy. This suggests that the heart of animals treated with convulex has lower functional capacities and, therefore, stress-induced decompensation and prenosological status developed earlier.