Magnesium Supplements and Their Effects on Your Heart

Magnesium Supplements and your Heart

I've mentioned in other magnesium articles that magnesium is useful in helping your muscles relax. Your heart is a muscle, right? After each and every contraction throughout your entire life, magnesium is required to relax your heart muscle.

In mild cases, too little magnesium in the blood may result in "skipping a beat" or "rapid beating" - aka palpitations. Less commonly, severe cases can cause some disturbing issues with the heart.

This explains why low levels of magnesium are associated with fatal cardiac arrhythmias, namely ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and an entity known as "Torsades de Pointes".

A Step Beyond...

Ventricular Tachycardia is a condition in which the main "pump" of the heart muscle begins to beat erratically and at a very fast rate. This condition may progress to Ventricular Fibrillation, which is most commonly a fatal arrhythmia.

Ventricular Fibrillation often arises from ventricular tachycardia (above) in which the main pump of the heart contracts asynchronously, resulting in minimal actual "pumping" of blood into the circulation. The main problem here is that oxygen, nutrients and other vital components in the blood never reach the vital organs such as the heart and brain.

"Torsades de Pointes" is a type of ventricular fibrillation with a specific EKG abnormality commonly found in patients with very low magnesium or potassium.

Studies have shown that individuals with very low levels of magnesium are much more likely of experience sudden death from a fatal arrhythmia, especially in an individual who already has heart problems.

In addition to problems with the heart muscle itself, magnesium indirectly prevents the formation of a clot by blocking the effects of calcium on platelets. The bottom line is fewer heart attacks, strokes and pulmonary emboli (clots in the lung).

But have no fear! Even if you're intermittently deficient in magnesium, your bones respond by releasing the element into your blood. Yet another reason why the human body is so resilient!

PLEASE READ THIS PART!

Although what I have said above may be somewhat disturbing to the average reader, it is extremely important to realize that too much magnesium can cause the same problems. With this in mind the total recommended daily allowance (RDA) for magnesium is between 300 and 500mg/day for healthy adults.

As always, this amount depends on your age, gender, diet, and multiple other factors. The RDA for children varies, but is much less than the adult requirements (they have less bone and muscle mass).

This does not mean taking 500mg/day in magnesium supplements. This means your total intake from food, water and supplements combined. Most daily vitamin tablets will contain an appropriate amount of magnesium to ensure healthy living.

That's right, either not enough or too much magnesium can have the same end result. The bottom line here is moderation. Do not suck down magnesium pills like there's not tomorrow because you're worried of a heart attack. The goal of this page is not to frighten you, but rather to inform you of the reasons why magnesium is an extremely important element for your bodily functions!

The extreme results outlined above are very rare and are seen in patients who are already significantly ill and in the hospital. Most daily vitamin tablets have the perfect blend of magnesium supplements along with other vitamins and minerals ideal for healthy living!

More Magnesium Articles

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