My 2 year old has seizures and is now fainting with weakness in his arm!

[janyce1120]

We're not sure what's happening to our son.  He's 2 years old. Since he turned 1, he's been getting febrile seizures, he had 4 in 2 days the first time and spent 3 days in hospital.  They said he had complex febrile seizures.  Since then he's had maybe 8 more seizures and 2 of which didn't involve a fever at all.  One time his day-care found him lying on the playground, limp.  He's had normal EEG, MRI, EKGs and Chest x-rays.  Now, to complicate things further, he's been fainting for the last 3 - 4 months.  I've seen it happen to him 5 times now.  Each time he was sitting down and the last two incidences, May 17th and May 24th, he had weakness in his right arm and hand.  These fainting spells last a split second...he blanks out, collapses and comes through in a split second.  Neurologists don't believe the seizures and fainting are related.  The cardiologists that have seen him don't think he has a heart issue.  We really need help to figure this out!!  Thank you!

[Marie M Gleason, M.D.]

Dear Janyce:  Sorry, but there was an error in the initial posting.  This is my response to you.   Febrile seizures are certainly common in childhood, and it sounds like your son has had a lot of appropriate neurologic testing (MRI, EEG and EKG).  It is also appropriate that he has been seen by a cardiologist.  If the EKG does not show any prolonged conduction intervals, and there is no family history of serious arrhythmias, structural heart disease, or sudden death in young people, then it makes it less likely that very brief episodes of “fainting” as you describe for a few seconds would be of cardiac origin. There are some young children who “breath hold” and pass out, but from what you describe, this does not sound like the case.  It is important to review your concern with your child’s primary doctor and neurologist. Ask your doctors about getting 24 hour video EEG monitoring.  

[Marie M Gleason, M.D.]

Dear leishylou:  We all have quite a bit of variability in our heart rates over a 24 hour period.  When your heart rate occasionally increases to 98 beats per minute, that will feel “fast” to you, but it is not fast enough to suggest any arrhythmia of the heart beat.  Usually, abnormal arrhythmias that occur at rest are associated with heart rates that are over 150-180 beats per minute.  It is great that you have taken your pulse rate, as this is very helpful information for your doctor to have.  It is also important to make sure that you are drinking sufficient fluids each day (32-48 ounces), or else your heart rate may increase.

As far as the brief, stabbing chest discomfort that you are experiencing, it is important to know several things: is it brought on by exercise or does it occurs at rest? Does it worsen with movement or taking deep breaths?  Is it very brief or long lasting?  Is there anything that you can do to make it better?  How long has it been going on?  Do you have asthma?  Is there any history of heart problems in your family?  Most chest pain in young people is NOT cardiac in origin; mostly it is either musculoskeletal or related to the lining of the chest and lungs.  Occasionally it can be of gastro-intestinal origin, such as acid reflux.

Finally, if you are experiencing shortness of breath as well, or a change in your exercise ability, it is important to see your primary doctor soon, and review all these symptoms with him/her.  They may want to get some testing, such as an EKG and chest x-ray.