Arrhythmia is a clinical term describing an irregular heartbeat, which many people commonly refer to as a heart that "skips a beat." Some cardiac arrhythmias are harmless and need no treatment. However, others may be very serious and potentially deadly without proper medical attention. Magnesium is critical to heart health and is often administered as part of arrhythmia treatment.
Mechanism
Magnesium works on the cellular level to ensure a steady beating of the heart. This mineral makes it possible for other essential minerals, like calcium and potassium, to travel across cell membranes. Thus, a magnesium deficiency could also result in a cellular deficiency in other minerals as well, even if those other minerals are plentiful outside of the cell. Because of its role in ion transport, magnesium is critical for the transmission of cellular signals. In addition to helping regulate heartbeat and prevent arrhythmias, magnesium also promotes communication between nerve and muscle cells.
Administration
When a potentially health-threatening arrhythmia requires medical treatment, doctors may recommend administration of intravenous magnesium to help stabilize the heartbeat. In this case, the doctor will decide what dose of magnesium to administer. Your doctor may also want to discontinue other medications that are known to deplete the body of magnesium; however, changes in medication should only be done under a doctor's supervision.
Use in Congestive Heart Failure
Doctors may also prescribe intravenous magnesium to prevent arrhythmias in people with congestive heart failure, a term that is often abbreviated CHF. The heart of people with CHF is not in good enough condition to pump an adequate amount of blood to all the tissues in the body. Having CHF is a significant risk factor in developing heart arrhythmias, and therefore your doctor may want to administer intravenous magnesium to promote a regularly beating heart.
Considerations
Although many people do not get optimal daily levels of magnesium, a severe deficiency in this mineral is rare. University of Maryland Medical Center recommends checking with your doctor before you take magnesium supplements on your own. Additionally, oral magnesium does not seem effective in helping to steady the heart beat, so a doctor should be consulted for intravenous administration of this mineral.
References
- University of California, San Diego: Cardiac Arrhythmia
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Magnesium
- NYU Langone Medical Center: Cardiac Arrhythmia
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: How Are Arrhythmias Diagnosed?
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University; Magnesium; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; August 2003
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