Restless Legs Syndrome and Blood Pressure Peaks

The availability of an effective treatment for restless legs syndrome (RLS) has led to widespread advertising of the product (ropinerole or Requip®), which has been followed by a growth in the number of patients reporting their leg problems. Most people with RLS have twitching or flexing leg movements during sleep, recurring at intervals of 20 to 40 seconds. Canadian researchers recently reported in the journal Neurology the results of a study they conducted in blood pressure changes in 10 patients with RLS during a night in the sleep lab.

Systolic blood pressure increased, on average, 22 mg Hg with each leg movement during sleep; diastolic pressure increased an average or 11 mm Hg at the same time. Apparently similar changes are seen in people with sleep apnea, who also have an increased likelihood of cardiovascular problems.

Do these short sharp surges in blood pressure carry a risk for the subject? There have been previous reports of an association between RLS and cardiovascular disease . . .