Cardiac effects of repeated focal seizures in rats induced by intrahippocampal tetanus toxin: Bradyarrhythmias, tachycardias, and prolonged interictal QT interval.

Objective: To determine electrical changes in the heart in a chronic, nonstatus model of epilepsy.

Methods: Electrocorticography (ECoG) and electrocardiography (ECG) of nine animals (five made epileptic by intrahippocampal injection of tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) and four controls), are monitored continuously by radiotelemetry for up to 7 weeks.

Results: Epileptic animals develop a median of 168 seizures, with postictal tachycardias reaching a mean of 487 beats/min and lasting a mean of 661 seconds.