Abstract
PurposeRestless legs syndrome (RLS) is a frequent sensorimotor disorder characterized by an urge to move the legs, with symptoms appearing during the night and disturbing nocturnal sleep. There is a growing body of evidence that RLS correlates with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that patients with RLS have higher blood pressure (BP) during the night than people without RLS.MethodsWe have analyzed polysomnographic (PSG) recordings of 30 patients with RLS and 27 subjects without the sleep disorder. During PSG, beat-to-beat BP measurement was performed.ResultsPatients with RLS have higher nocturnal and sleep-time systolic blood pressure compared to controls (124.4 vs. 116.5 mmHg, p < 0.05; 123.5 vs. 116.1 mmHg, p < 0.05). There was no noticeable dip in the values of nocturnal systolic pressure of patients with RLS.ConclusionsOur results support the hypothesis that RLS and hypertension are linked. Thus, we believe patients with RLS require close observation with regard to cardiovascular risk factors.
Highlights
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder with a prevalence in the general population of 5–8.8 % [1] and is characterized by the presence of an irresistible urge to move the legs frequently accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the lower limbs
Patients with RLS have higher nocturnal and sleeptime systolic blood pressure compared to controls (124.4 vs. 116.5 mmHg, p < 0.05; 123.5 vs. 116.1 mmHg, p < 0.05)
There was no noticeable dip in the values of nocturnal systolic pressure of patients with RLS
Summary
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder with a prevalence in the general population of 5–8.8 % [1] and is characterized by the presence of an irresistible urge to move the legs frequently accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the lower limbs. Cross-sectional population studies have suggested a higher prevalence of hypertension in the population of subjects with RLS [4,5,6], but other authors have not found the same result [7, 8]. Though, Erden et al have found that RLS is an independent determinant for abnormal blood pressure (BP) patterns in which BP does not dip at night (nondipping pattern) [9]
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