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.

The Role of Disturbed Mg Homeostasis in Chronic Kidney Disease Comorbidities

“…In another clinical trial, Mg administration did not significantly improve the incidence of arrhythmias in patients with hypomagnesemia or normomagnesemia after coronary artery bypass grafting. There was no significant correlation between post-operative serum levels of Mg and arrhythmia ( Carpenter et al, 2018 ). Nevertheless, more studies are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of Mg administration, dose, and length of treatment, in preventing arrhythmias.…”

“…Supplements of Mg protect against the hemodynamic instability associated with the electrolyte abnormalities observed in heart failure where treatments with furosemide, digitalis, and ACE inhibitors could favor Mg excretion ( Carpenter et al, 2018 ). Nevertheless, reports on the associations between dietary intake or supplements of Mg and arrhythmias are scarce.…”

“…However, a more recent prospective study, including American participants, has not shown a significant relationship between Mg intake and the incidence of atrial fibrillation ( Misialek et al, 2013 ). Nevertheless, some authors recommend that hypomagnesemia should be corrected by oral Mg supplementation to prevent cardiac rhythm disorders ( Carpenter et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Maintenance of optimal Mg status may also be an appropriate strategy to help control the BP ( Kostov and Halacheva, 2018 ). A negative correlation between dietary Mg intake and BP has been observed, and supplementary oral Mg intake significantly reduced systolic and diastolic BP ( Cunha et al, 2017 ; Carpenter et al, 2018 ) and ameliorated subclinical atherosclerosis ( Cunha et al, 2017 ). Concerning cardiovascular death, in a meta-analysis, which included 400,000 adults, the dietary Mg intake was inversely associated with the risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death ( Fang et al, 2016a ).…”