Restless Legs Syndrome Tied to Heart Disease

April 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Preliminary findings from a study at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona suggest a strong association between Restless Legs Syndrome and structural heart problems.

Arshad A. Jahangir, MD presented this information at the American College of Cardiology meeting being held in New Orleans this week.  The study revealed a 1.85-fold increase in risk for cardiac hypertrophy (enlarged heart) in patients who had more than 35 bursts of leg movements per hour when sleeping.

This is important news for cardiologist and sleep specialists alike as this is among the first research to link nocturnal leg movements to heart disease. The mechanism for this link is not clear.  Jahangir suggested that excess sympathetic activity may be involved.

While more research is needed to verify these results and no treatment is being recommended at this time, the researchers concluded at the conference, "With the aging of the population and increase in the prevalence of sleep-related disorders and cardiovascular disease, recognition of frequent periodic leg movement during sleep as a potential modifiable risk factor for left ventricular hypertrophy offers another target to help reduce its burden and associated complications.”


Source reference:
Mirza M, et al "Fragmented sleep due to frequent leg movement is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and poor cardiovascular outcome" ACC 2011.

See more about sleep and sleep disorders at http://www.sleepofchampions.com

# # #

Patty Tucker, PA-C is a sleep coach and consultant. Trained at Stanford University Medical Center she has over 22 years experience treating people with sleep problems. She believes that healthy sleep is key to living up to our full potential.
Read more at http://www.sleepofchampions.com