The Epileptic Heart - Multiparametric Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Detection and Quantification of Acute and Chronic Cardiac Involvement in Patients With Epilepsy

The aim of the study is to use multiparametric cardiac MRI to identify any abnormalities in myocardial structure and function in patients with epilepsy. A two-stage study design is planned as part of the study:

1. In the acute setting, cardiac MRI will be performed in patients before and after a tonic-clonic seizure and compared intraindividually. In this study arm, potential acute seizure-induced myocardial damage will be detected.
2. In the chronic setting, cardiac MRI will be performed in patients with known chronic epilepsy during the seizure-free interval to detect potential chronic myocardial damage (myocardial fibrosis) and compared with a control population. Within the group of epilepsy patients, possible associations with various epilepsy-specific characteristics (e.g., form, cause, onset, duration, and severity of epilepsy) will be investigated.