A rare but treatable cause of recurrent chest pain - Ictal chest pain

BACKGROUND: Chest pain as the primary manifestation of epilepsy is extremely rare and has only been reported once to date.

CASE PRESENTATION: We herein describe a 47-year-old woman with recurrent chest pain for 3 years. The cause of her chest pain remained elusive despite extensive investigations including comprehensive cardiac work-up. She was referred to the neurology clinic for one episode of confusion. Video-electroencephalographic monitoring detected unequivocal ictal changes during her habitual chest pain events. She has remained chest pain (seizure) free with a single antiseizure drug.

CONCLUSIONS: This case underlines the importance of epilepsy as a rare yet treatable cause of recurrent chest pain. Further studies are required to determine the pathophysiology of ictal chest pain.