Dietary Magnesium Intake and Heart Health

Abstract

With magnesium being the second most common intracellular cation in the human body and the presence of hypomagnesemia in 10% of hospital admissions, magnesium deficiency has become a clinically significant nutritional deficiency in context of heart health. Magnesium has long been used as a treatment modality for cardiac arrhythmias as serum magnesium concentration of 1.44 mEq/L to 1.8 mEq/L has been found to have a statistically significant inverse association with cardiovascular disease events. Patients with the highest intake of magnesium were found to have incidents of sudden cardiac death reduced by 77% while hypomagnesemia is found to be associated with increased risk of congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias. It has also been demonstrated that high dietary intake of serum magnesium is associated with decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure secondary to reduction in vascular tone and an increase in vasodilatory substances, like Prostaglandin E. Association of cardiovascular diseases with hypomagnesemia and the need for the fulfilment of RDA goals, authenticates the use of oral magnesium supplements, with established safety profile and lack of potential for toxicity.