Magnesium against Cardiovascular Disease

Magnesium  is the best heart medicine to prevent hypertension, stroke, angina, arrhythmia, heart attack, blood clots, etc

Transdermal delivery of magnesium chloride boosts Mg levels to provide immediate cardiovascular benefits (Used regularly, can sustain /supply beneficial Mg levels to your heart and circulatory system)

Transdermal Magnesium Chloride

“Magnesium deficiency appears to have caused eight million sudden coronary deaths in America during the period 1940-1994.”

- Paul Mason

Calculations of American Deaths Caused by Magnesium Deficiency, As Projected from International Data

Mg deficiency is closely associated with CVD

Harrison, Tinsley R. Principles of Internal Medicine. 1994, 13th edition, McGraw-Hill, pp. 1106-15 and pp. 2434-35

As magnesium intake fell during the 100 years since 1900, death from heart disease skyrocketed – adequate Mg levels are essential for proper heart function anda magnesium deficiency can cause the heart muscle to spasm or cramp and stop beating (i.e cardiac arrest).

Lower magnesium concentrations have been found in heart attack patients

Shechter, Michael, et al. The rationale of magnesium supplementation in acute myocardial infarction: a review of the literature. Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 152, November 1992, pp. 2189-96

A U.S. study of >10,000 people found that 79% were consuming less than the US RDA of Mg – further, 26% of the study participants were actually taking magnesium supplements and demonstrated lower levels of C-Reactive protein (a measure of inflammatory activity in the body and an accurate predictor of heart disease).

Source: US Study, reported in the July 2006 issue of the journalNutrition Research.

Appropriate magnesium supplementation can eliminate CVD related problems via several mechanisms:

–   Most importantly, magnesium prevents calcification of the heart tissues

–   Magnesium is required for muscle relaxation – Mg deficiency can result in symptoms of tachycardia, fibrillation, arterial constrictions, angina, even instant death.

–   Keeps blood flowing smoothly –by reducing platelet aggrevation/stickiness, Mg helps prevent the formation of blood clots.

Bo S, Pisu E. Role of dietary magnesium in cardiovascular disease prevention, insulin sensitivity and diabetes. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2008 Feb;19(1):50-6.

–   Magnesium dilates the heart arteries - both the epicardial and resistance coronary arteries. Mg produces vasodilation by both direct and indirect action –indirectly by sympathetic blockade and inhibition of catecholamine release.

–   Mg lowers LDL cholesterol levels/prevents atherosclerosis – Mg +ATP complex regulates cholesterol synthesis (by deactivating the rate-limiting enzyme HMG-CoA reductase required for its production). Mg also lowers inflammation, decreases oxidative stress, reduces homocysteine levels and diminishes endothelial dysfunction—all factors underlying CVD. Mg can raise HDL cholesterol, whilst lowering LDL cholesterol, since it is a cofactor of the enzyme LCAT which transfers part of one molecule to another resulting in the conversion of LDL to HDL. “The Magnesium Factor”by Mildred S. Seelig, Andrea Rosanoff (Note that adequate magnesium levels do not prevent the synthesis of cholesterol needed for healthy production of steroid hormones and vitamin D, since deactivated HMG-CoA reductase can be reactivated by other enzymes, some of which require magnesium for proper function).

–   Mg is essential for endocrine stability /function.

–   Mg is protective against metabolic syndrome and diabetes - mmajor factors that threaten heart and vascular health.

Benefits of Mg in specific CVD problems

Arrhythmias

Heart Attack

High Blood Pressure (HBP)

Angina

Congestive Heart Failure

Stroke

A high calcium to magnesium ratio “Spells” CVD

Calcium must be balanced with Magnesium, (and also Vitamins A, D and K – all part of the calcium “team”) otherwise calcium causes calcification and arterial restriction.

High calcium levels (unbalanced by magnesium) constrict the heart arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks

–   Calcium deposits in the walls of the arteries contribute to the development of arteriosclerosis - arteries become hard and rigid, which restricts blood flow causing high blood pressure. Additionally, inelastic blood vessels can easily rupture, causing strokes.

–   Cardiovascular calcification lesions can lead to the development of CVD – including myocardial ischaemia, myocardial infarction, impaired myocardial function, congestive heart failure, cardiac valve insufficiency, and cardiac arrhythmias. There is a strong association between increased cardiac calcification and risk of death.

Countries consuming the highest calcium to magnesium ratios (high calcium and low magnesium levels) have the highest incidence of cardiovascular disease

–   Topping the list is Australia, then the U.S. and Scandinavian countries - in contrast, Japan with its low cardiac death rate cites a daily Mg intake as high as 560 mg, mainly from Mg in sea vegetables and single-cell algae, such as chlorella and spirulina, and also a variety of ocean-related food sources, including Nigari (magnesium chloride crystals that remain after sodium chloride is removed and water is evaporated from seawater) added to drinking water, miso soups, steamed vegetables, etc. and used as coagulants in the production of tofu. Additionally, the Japanese have one of the lowest intakes of calcium from dairy products.

–    Fatal heart attacks are more common in areas where the water supply is deficient in magnesium - and the average intake through the diet is often significantly less than the 200-400 milligrams required daily.

Eisenberg, Mark J. Magnesium deficiency and sudden death. American Heart Journal, Vol. 124, No. 2, August 1992, pp. 544-49

–   Studies show low incidence of high blood pressure and heart disease where Mg levels in drinking waterand food are high – Greenland natives, the Bantu of southern Africa, the Bedouin of the middle east and Aborigines of Australia were studied, but when these people moved to urban areas and began eatinga modern diet, they developed high blood pressure and heartdisease at similar rates to those in industrialized western countries.

Altura, B.M., B.T. "Magnesium in Cardiovascular Biology."Scientific American, Science & Medicine, May/June 1995:28-37.

Those who die from heart attacks have very low magnesium and high calcium levels in their heart muscles - CHD patients treated with high dose Mg survived better than those treated with other drugs. Intravenous Mg could save your life when administered during or shortly after a heart attack. (see below)

Study by Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago determined that insufficient dietary Mg increases your chances of developing coronary artery disease - in a study of 2,977 men and women, researchers used CT scans of the chest to assess coronary artery calcium levels. Beginning measurements were taken when the study participants were 18- to 30-years old—and again 15 years later. Results concluded that dietary Mg intake was inversely related to coronary artery calcium levels. Coronary artery calcium is considered an indicator of atherosclerosis, in which plaque build-up blocks arteries.

TThe ratio of calcium to magnesium is vital for cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier.