Restless legs symptoms may predict adverse cardiovascular outcomes in men with CAD: Study
USA: A recent study has reported that moderate-to-severe restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms are related to a significantly higher risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in men with coronary artery disease (CAD). The study appears in The American Journal of Cardiology.
In the general population, the association between RLS and cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains confusing and its prognostic value in CAD patients is not known. To fill this knowledge gap, Arshed A. Quyyumi, Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, and colleagues aimed to assess the frequency of RLS-like symptoms in 3,266 patients undergoing cardiac catheterization using a validated instrument.
Patients were followed for primary endpoints of incident myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death. The association between RLS and incident events was explored after adjusting for demographic and clinical risk factors.
The study revealed the following findings:
- In the total cohort, 29% of patients reported mild (rare or sometimes) symptoms, and 15% of patients had moderate/severe (often to almost always) symptoms of RLS.
- Female sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.11), body mass index (OR 1.12 per 5 kg/m2), diabetes (OR 1.43), and β-blocker use (OR 1.35) were independently associated with moderate/severe symptoms of RLS compared with no symptoms.
- Over a 5-year follow-up period, 991 patients suffered an adverse event.
- Compared with those with no symptoms, patients with moderate/severe RLS had a significantly higher risk of the primary endpoint (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.33) after adjustment for demographic and clinical risk factors.
- The association was more significant in men than women, HR 1.98 versus HR 0.99.
"We found that among men with CAD, moderate-to-severe symptoms of RLS are associated with a significantly higher risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, independent of traditional risk factors," wrote the authors.
Reference:
The study titled, "Usefulness of Restless Legs Symptoms to Predict Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes in Men With Coronary Artery Disease," is published in The American Journal of Cardiology.
