Seizures can take many different forms, including lapses of awareness, episodic shaking, or convulsions. Seizures usually don't last very long, normally only a minute or two, and then they subside. Most of the time, we don't know why epilepsy occurs. In a few instances, doctors can trace seizures to specific causes such as head injury from a car accident, the aftermath of a serious infection such as meningitis, or even from lead poisoning. We do know that after the age of 60, other factors come into play.
Stroke is the most frequent cause of epilepsy among seniors.
Blocked arteries deprive parts of the brain of blood and oxygen, and the resulting damage may produce seizures. Similarly, heart disease can also produce seizures because it too reduces the amount of oxygen to the brain. Other known causes of epilepsy after age 60 include brain tumours, alcohol abuse, kidney or liver failure, and head injuries often the result of falling. A single seizure does not mean a person has epilepsy. A person is considered to have epilepsy when seizures occur more than once due to an underlying condition in the brain.