Most people with epilepsy live long and healthy lives. As with many other medical conditions though, for some people there is an increased risk of dying caused by epilepsy.
The possible causes of this increased risk include:
- More serious health problems, such as a stroke or a tumour.
- These conditions carry an increased risk of death and may cause seizures.
- Falls or other injuries that happen because of seizures; these can be life-threatening.
- The underlying medical cause of someone’s epilepsy.
- Seizures that last over 5 minutes; a condition called status epilepticus. It can sometimes happen when a person suddenly stops taking seizure medication.
- SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) is thought to happen when a person with epilepsy, who is in their usual state of health, dies unexpectedly.