RLS, better known as Restless Leg Syndrome, is a neurological disorder that causes people to have a strong urge to move their legs. Though it seems like just about every kid on the planet suffers from this disorder, it's typically a problem faced by older adults.

Researchers from the University of Montreal's Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Canada may have discovered that RLS may increase a person's chance of developing cardiovascular disease. To study a small number of people with untreated RLS in a sleep laboratory, researchers kept them overnight, allowing the researchers to monitor periodic leg movement and blood pressure changes in the test subjects. The study revealed that systolic blood pressure rates during these frequent leg movements rose by an average of 20 points, with diastolic blood pressure also rising by an average of 11 points.

Because drastic blood pressure surges during sleep have been associated with a higher rate of stroke in the elderly, the researchers made the RLS connection. However, there is still a great deal more investigation into this RLS/blood pressure link that needs to be completed at this time. Also, the researchers themselves suggest that their findings be interpreted with caution since the study was limited by its small sample size.