Restless Legs and Limb Jerking Linked to Heart Troubles
Posted on Fri, Sep 30, 2011 @ 11:50 AM
A clinical study in the headlines recently should alert men who have, or are concerned with cardiovascular disease. In this study, 2911 men age 65+ underwent a sleep study and over 2000 were found to have some type of Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD). After four years, they were evaluated for cardiovascular disease and 500 of the men (17%) had experienced their first cardiovascular event, defined as; coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease or a combination these events.
The results demonstrated that those that awoke from their involuntary limb movements were 25 to 30% more likely to have cardiovascular problems, additionally, those with the most frequent limb movements had the greatest risk. See full abstract.
One noteworthy finding of the study is that 60% of those studied, woke up, without realizing it, at least once per hour due to their limb movements. This is significant because common screening questions merely ask a patient about their quality of sleep and will often yield a false positive.
The article states that “The jerks and flexes are sometimes treated with medications for Parkinson's disease and anti-convulsants.” And one of the investigators suggested that “more studies are needed before his team's findings should lead to any changes in diagnosis or treatment of involuntary nighttime activity.”
It is possible that a study already exists that could lead to changes diagnosis and treatment for this condition.
In June of 2010 the Sleep Center at MidAmerica Neuroscience Institute had a poster presentation at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) meeting in San Antonio. The abstract demonstrated a high prevalence of lumbar radiculopathy in patients with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and PLMD which suggests that therapeutic implications could consider treatments directed towards lumbar radiculopathy, such as physical therapy.
The abstract, Association of Restless Legs Syndrome – Like Movements and Periodic Limb Movement Disorder with Lumbar Radiculopathy can be downloaded in PDF form.
If you have or are being treated for Restless Leg Syndrome or Periodioc Limb Movement Disorder, a neurologist that specializes in sleep disorders and electrophysiology (EMG and nerve conduction studies) is the best place to seek help.