You may use milk of magnesia as a laxative or as an antacid to relieve heartburn, a sour stomach or indigestion. While this treatment may affect your blood pressure, it is not likely to raise it. Consult a doctor before using milk of magnesia, especially if you have high blood pressure or take blood pressure medications.
Identification
Milk of magnesia is the common name for magnesium hydroxide. This is one form of magnesium, a naturally occurring mineral, that is important for your nerves, muscles and your heart health. It helps you maintain a normal heart rhythm, for example. If you are constipated and have high blood pressure, your doctor may recommend milk of magnesia or another laxative because straining when you pass stools can worsen your high blood pressure.
Significance
Taking milk of magnesia may lower, not raise, your blood pressure. Magnesium is sometimes used to treat heart attack survivors because it theoretically helps lower blood pressure and decreases arrhythmias. However, scientific evidence supporting use of magnesium to lower blood pressure is mixed as of 2011, according to University of Maryland Medical Center; therefore, discuss using any form of magnesium with your doctor, if you have a heart attack history, high blood pressure or another health condition.
Overdose and Blood Pressure
If you overdose on milk of magnesia, you can suffer serious health consequences including severely lowered blood pressure, according to University of Maryland Medical Center. Lowered blood pressure, in turn, can lead to heart rhythm disturbances or a slowed heart rate, confusion, lethargy and deterioration in kidney function, according to the Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute. An overdose also may cause vomiting and nausea, coma and even death. Seek emergency medical attention if you suspect an overdose. The tolerable upper limit for magnesium is 350 milligrams daily.
Blood Pressure Medication Interaction
Taking milk of magnesia with medications for high blood pressure raises your risk for hypotension, or blood pressure that falls too low, according to “The Essential Herb-Drug-Vitamin Interaction Guide,” by George T. Grossberg and Barry Fox. Combining it with calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem, amlodipine, felodipine and verapamil also raises the risk for side effects like nausea, dizziness and fluid retention.
References
- Drugs.com; Phillip’s Milk of Magnesia; September 2011
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Magnesium; June 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Laxative; August 2011
- Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute; Magnesium; August 2007
- “The Essential Herb-Drug-Vitamin Interaction Guide”; George T. Grossberg and Barry Fox; 2007
