Epilepsy Monitoring Unit

Huntington Health, in collaboration with Cedars-Sinai, is offering exceptional epilepsy care to patients with seizures in Pasadena, as well as the surrounding San Gabriel Valley, with the opening of the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU).

Epilepsy is a neurological disease that causes abnormal bursts of electrical activity in the brain, causing seizures that can result in a person’s loss of muscle control, ability to see and communicate, and changes in awareness. Luckily, we have numerous anti-seizure medications to help treat the 3 million adults with epilepsy in the United States. However, approximately one-third of patients continue to have seizures despite being on one to as many as five anti-seizure drugs (medically refractory epilepsy).  Huntington’s EMU serves as a critical part of the epilepsy workup and treatment plan, especially for this population with intractable epilepsy.

Epilepsy Monitoring at Huntington Hospital

The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit has two dedicated beds in the neuroscience unit where patients will stay for 3-7 days for continuous monitoring. We use digital video and EEG recording to capture clinical behavior and electrographic seizure activity: the first and most critical step in localizing the part of the brain where seizures begin. 

The next steps of care may involve optimizing medications, detailed brain imaging, cognitive evaluations, and exploration of medical devices and epilepsy surgery as additional treatment options.

The Huntington EMU Team

Our EMU, under the guidance of medical director, Yafa Minazad, DO, brings together a trusted team of Huntington specialists, including neurologists, medical internists, neurosurgeons, nurses, neurophysiology technicians and patient care coordinators, working on behalf of improving patient medical care.

“We are proud of our talented team at Huntington and the collaboration with our new partners at Cedars-Sinai Hospital; we can introduce state-of-the-art epilepsy treatment to our community and beyond.”

Yafa Minazad, DO, Medical Director, Neurophysiology

Contact Us

To learn more about our Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, referring patients to the EMU and our epileptologists, please contact the neuroscience coordinator by calling (626) 397-3786.

“Seizures can be debilitating for our patients and prevent them from living their lives. The EMU gives us an opportunity to help patients get back to living their lives without fear from epilepsy.”

Adena Shahinian, DO, Epileptologist