title: The prevalence and significance of periodic leg movements during sleep in patients with congestive heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate (1) the prevalence of periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMs) in a consecutive sample of congestive heart failure (CHF) outpatients; (2) the presence of correlation between PLMs, subjective daytime sleepiness, and sleep architecture; and (3) the heart rate response to PLMs in CHF.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-nine [50 men, age 59 +/- 11 years, body mass index (BMI) 26 +/- 5 kg/m(2)] consecutive adult stable outpatients with CHF [left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 36 +/- 6%] were prospectively evaluated. The patients underwent assessment of echocardiography, sleepiness (Epworth Scale), and overnight in-lab polysomnography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen patients (19%) had PLM index >5. These subjects were similar in sex distribution, BMI, subjective somnolence, LVEF, and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), but were significantly older than subjects without PLMs. Sleep architecture was similar in subjects with and without PLMs. There was a small but significant elevation of heart rate after PLMs (80.1 +/- 9.4 vs. 81.5 +/- 9.2; p < 0.001). The cardiac acceleration was also present in absence of electroencephalogram activation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of PLMs in consecutive sample of adult CHF outpatients was 19%. There were no differences in subjective daytime sleepiness, sleep architecture, AHI, and severity of CHF in subjects with and without PLMs. PLMs caused a small but statistically significant cardiac acceleration.
authors.affiliation: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Skomro
authors.forename: Rogerio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Rosana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Adelaide
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.forename: Geraldo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lorenzi-Filho
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020189:Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology