Frequency of cardiovascular diseases in the patients with restless legs syndrome

Background: Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a sensory-motor neurological disease characterized by discomfort, unpleasant sensations, an urge to move the legs. There are a lot of studies showing the association between Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD), Hypertension (HT) and Body Mass Index (BMI). The potential underlying mechanism of an increased risk of CVD in RLS is not clear but may involve hypertension, as Periodic Limb Movements during Sleep (PLMS) were shown to be related to blood pressure increases. These studies were inconsistent. The aim of this case control study was to show the prevalence of CVD in the patients with RLS compared with a control group.Methods: A total of 37 newly diagnosed patients with RLS (group 1) who were applied to neurology polyclinic of Sakarya University Hospital between March 2016 and May 2017 and 37 control subjects (group 2) were included in this case control study. RLS was diagnosed using the criteria of the International RLS Study Group. Both groups were screened for HT, dyslipidemia, coronary artery diseases, atrial fibrillation. 24hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) were enrolled for both groups. Interventricular septum was measured with echocardiography by cardiologist for diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy.Results: There were no significant differences in sex (p:0.11) and age (p:0.33) between the two groups. Hypertension (p:0.001) and non-dipper hypertension (p:0.004), BMI (p:0.004), left ventricular hypertrophy (p:0,002) were found statistically significantly higher than the control group. There were no differences in atrial fibrillation (p:1) and hyperlipidemia (p:0.69) between two groups.Conclusions: Patients with RLS should be followed closely for cardiovascular diseases.