[3] Diagnosis may be based on the history of the event and physical examination with support from heart testing and an EEG.
[3] The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) define an epileptic seizure as "a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain.
A provoked (or an un-provoked, or an idiopathic) seizure must generally occur twice before a person is diagnosed with epilepsy.
The lay use of this word can also include sudden attacks of illness, loss of control, spasm or stroke.
Possible causes include: A wide array of phenomena may or may not resemble epileptic seizures, which may lead to people who do not have epilepsy being misdiagnosed.