It is well known that Restless Leg Syndrome interrupts sleep but can it also increase your risk for heart disease?
A recent study published in Neurology (Jan 2009) found that people with Restless Leg Syndrome are at an increased risk for a stroke and heart disease. In fact adults with Restless Leg Syndrome were more than twice as likely to develop heart disease or a stroke. This study evaluated over 3,400 people. People who had Restless Leg Syndrome symptoms at least 16 times per month were at the greatest risk.
The exact mechanism that leads to this increased risk is unknown but several theories exist:
1) Periodic leg movements throughout the night can trigger an increase in blood pressure and heart rate.
2) Sleep disturbances have been reported to increase the risk for heart disease. People with Restless Leg Syndrome experience frequent awakenings and poor sleep quality.
People who have Restless Leg Syndrome should discuss their overall risk for heart disease and stroke with their health care provider and optimize all their risk factors in order to prevent a heart attack!
this is a very nice post
I’ve always suspected that my restless legs and my heart attack (2003) were connected. They (legs) also made angioplasty (when recup was several hours) an ordeal for me. Exercise seems to help on all fronts.
[...] seen the commercial, now get the facts about RLS. Heartstrong’s post Restless Leg Syndrome May Increase Your Risk for a Heart Attack posted at Healthy Hearts with Heartstrong sheds some light on the relationship between the two [...]