Improved cardiac outcomes with combined atenolol and diazepam intervention in seizure.

Objective: Altered autonomic activity has been implicated in the development of cardiac dysfunction during seizures. This study investigates whether intervening in seizure progression with diazepam will reduce seizure-induced cardiomyopathy. Second, this study examines the hypothesis that combining atenolol with diazepam, as an intervention after seizure onset, will combat cardiac injury during status epilepticus.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with electroencephalographic/electrocardiographic electrodes to allow simultaneous recordings during seizures induced by intrahippocampal (2 nmol, 1 μL) kainic acid (KA). Subcutaneous saline, atenolol (5 mg·kg ), diazepam (5 mg·kg ), or atenolol and diazepam (n = 12/group) were administered at 60 minutes post-KA and daily for 7 days, at which point echocardiography, susceptibility to aconitine-induced arrhythmias, and histology were evaluated.

Results: Seizure activity was associated with immediately increased heart rate, QTc interval, and blood pressure (BP; 10%-30% across indices). Seven days postseizure, saline-treated animals were found to have reduced left ventricular function, increased fibrotic scarring, and an elevated risk of aconitine-induced arrhythmias. Diazepam treatment significantly reduced cumulative seizure behaviors by 79% compared to saline-treated animals but offered no cardiac protection. Diazepam significantly raised BP (35%) and increased the risk of bigeminal arrhythmias (36%) compared to saline-treated animals. Atenolol administration, either alone or with diazepam, reduced heart rate, QTc interval, and BP back to control levels. Atenolol also preserved cardiac morphology and reduced arrhythmia risk.

Significance: Attenuation of seizure with diazepam offered no cardiac protection; however, coadministration of atenolol with diazepam prevented the development of seizure-induced cardiac dysfunction. This study demonstrates that atenolol intervention should be strongly considered as an adjunct clinical treatment to reduce cardiomyopathy during seizures.