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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2017; 10(02): 80-86
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20170015
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Heart rate variability in restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movements of Sleep

Daniel A. Barone
1   Weill Cornell Medical College Center for Sleep Medicine
,
Matthew R. Ebben
1   Weill Cornell Medical College Center for Sleep Medicine
,
Miles DeGrazia
1   Weill Cornell Medical College Center for Sleep Medicine
,
David Mortara
2   Mortara Instrument, Inc
,
Ana C. Krieger
1   Weill Cornell Medical College Center for Sleep Medicine
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INTRODUCTION The relationship between the autonomic nervous system and restless legs syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS) consists of varied and somewhat conflicting reports. In order to further elucidate these complexities, a retrospective analysis of polysomnography (PSG) records and clinical data was performed.

METHODS Records from 233 adult subjects were randomly selected and organized into one of four groups ("non-RLS/PLMS" [n=61], "RLS" [n=60], "PLMS" [n=58], and "RLS/PLMS" [n=54]). Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis was based on 5-minute samples of 2-lead electrocardiogram data isolated from PSG recordings during wakefulness and NREM sleep, and included mean RR interval (labeled "NN") and standard deviation of the RR intervals (labeled "SDNN"), and HRV power, very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF), and high frequency (HF) spectral bands.

RESULTS A significant reduction in the VLF band in the PLMS group as compared to the non-RLS/PLMS group (542±674 vs. 969±1025 ms2, p=0.038) was found in wakefulness. Statistically significant differences were seen in the PLMS group as compared to the non-RLS/PLMS group with a reduction in SDNN (p=0.001) and the HF (p=0.001) band, and an increase in HRV power (p=0.001), and the VLF (p=0.005) and LF (p=0.001) bands in NREM sleep.

CONCLUSIONS The PLMS group exhibited reduced basal sympathetic activity in wakefulness, but basal sympathetic predominance during NREM sleep, distinguishing this group from the RLS and RLS/PLMS groups.

Restless Legs Syndrome - Autonomic Nervous System - Heart Rate - Polysomnography - Sleep


Publication History

Received: 20 August 2016

Accepted: 04 January 2017

Article published online:
09 October 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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