Magnesium and the heart
MAGNESIUM FOR HEALTHY HEART FUNCTION
Minerals play a vital role in the human body and often work in combination. For example, the symbiotic relationship between potassium and magnesium and their natural antagonist calcium is essential for our muscles to function properly. This applies to our calf muscle as much as it does to what is probably the most important muscle in our body, the heart. A magnesium deficiency can upset the balance, causing heart arrhythmias. Adequate magnesium intake is therefore not only essential for the body to survive but should also be a matter that's near to our hearts.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MAGNESIUM IN HEART FUNCTION?
The heart is just like the rest of our muscles in that it functions by contracting and relaxing. While calcium is responsible for exciting the heart muscle, i.e. making it contract, magnesium is responsible for making it relax. As an antagonist of calcium, magnesium regulates heart function, ensuring that the heart beats properly and doesn't lose rhythm. This is no small task considering that our heart beats around 100,000 times a day.
HOW DOES MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY AFFECT THE HEART?
A magnesium deficiency can increase the excitability of muscle cells. This is because the increased muscle activity cannot be reduced again if there is not enough of the mineral present. As a result, a magnesium deficiency can impair heart function and cause the heart to fall out of rhythm. It's not surprising, then, that magnesium deficiency is linked to various cardiac arrhythmias. These arrhythmias can exacerbate cardiac insufficiency and, in extreme cases, may even lead to heart failure. For this reason, it is particularly important that people who suffer from heart disease ensure that they are getting enough magnesium.
The German Heart Foundation recommends that people keep an eye on their magnesium levels. If you are diagnosed with a magnesium deficiency, magnesium in the form of a OTC pharmaceutical should be taken, ideally as magnesium citrate or magnesium aspartate.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF A MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY AFFECTING THE HEART?
A magnesium deficiency can also manifest through a variety of symptoms affecting the heart. Impaired heart function, such as cardiac arrhythmias, can manifest as a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) or abnormal heart rhythm (fibrillation). If you experience any of these symptoms, it is essential that you seek medical advice to determine the underlying cause. These symptoms could be related to a magnesium deficiency. If this is the case, your doctor will likely recommend targeted magnesium supplementation. As a OTC pharmaceutical containing magnesium in the form of pure magnesium citrate, Magnesium Diasporal® 300 mg granules for oral solution is ideal for this purpose.
HOW DOES MAGNESIUM AFFECT BLOOD PRESSURE?
High blood pressure can also cause cardiac arrhythmias and can damage the heart, even permanently. Magnesium plays a key role in regulating blood pressure. On the one hand, the mineral has a relaxing effect on the vascular muscles. On the other, it also inhibits the release of the stress hormone adrenaline, which is responsible for increasing blood pressure. In other words, magnesium helps lower blood pressure. Many studies have already investigated the link between high blood pressure and magnesium. The results of these studies show that taking magnesium can help lower blood pressure.
A high-dose magnesium supplement is important for people with high blood pressure as they often take medications like diuretics. These medications result in increased magnesium excretion and can therefore contribute to a magnesium deficiency.
HOW DOES MEDICATION IMPACT MAGNESIUM LEVELS?
Cardiac patients are often treated with medications known as diuretics. These are designed to reduce the strain on the heart by helping the body get rid of unneeded water. Diuretics reduce the volume of blood, which in turn lowers blood pressure. But diuretics - and ACE inhibitors, which also lower blood pressure - also increase the rate at which essential minerals such as magnesium are excreted through the kidneys. This can lead to a magnesium deficiency. Special care should also be taken to ensure adequate magnesium levels when taking other medications such as acid blockers (proton pump inhibitors) or laxatives.
