DEAR DR. GOTT: I am an 86-year-old widow of a disabled WWII veteran. I am the eldest in a family of 5 girls. I and two of my sisters have restless legs syndrome (RLS). We three also had rheumatic fever. I have often wondered whether there was a connection between the two conditions.
My father also had rheumatic fever but he died at age 46 so I do not know if he would have had RLS.
DEAR READER: Restless legs syndrome is in no way related to rheumatic fever, but as you know, the cause of RLS remains unknown, so the future may tell us more.
