Reducing the risk of SUDEP

It was not that long ago that some believed there was little point in discussing sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) with patients. Why cause anxiety, it was argued, if the risk could not be influenced? The results of the landmark study by Sveinsson et al.1–3 reporting on a nationwide population-based case–control study of 255 SUDEP cases from Sweden, the largest so far, which combines data from linked records with detailed review of medical charts, suggest otherwise.