Hello doctor, A close friend of the family recently had a heart attack and was put into a medically induced coma . I read some basic info on it and why it is done. Now my main question is why do patients have seizures during these types of comas and how does affect the brain? Is it normal for the siezures to occur? What are the chances of her having brain damage and what kind of brain function is expected to have during this kind of coma? Thank you, Ana
Hi, Based on your query, I want to say that generally, coma is not induced for heart attacks. Whether your friend had a cardiac arrest (where the heart beats stop for some time) and was revived. I think this must be the case.  Here, the chances of brain recovery depends on the duration for which heart was not beating, until it was revived with resuscitation. Anything more than five minutes results in significant brain damage. The exact damage can be assessed with tests such as EEG and evoked potential studies. Clinical examination by a neurologist can also help in that. Seizures are common in this condition. Best wishes, Chat Doctor.