Despite the incredible advances modern medicine has made in the last forty years, heart attacks are still the single leading cause of death. Even though we understand the importance of a diet low in saturated fats, and the preventive impact of exercise, most of us know little about magnesium, the one mineral that can do the most to help us.
Many researchers now believe that magnesium deficiency can be linked to hardening of the arteries and hypertension. They’ve discovered that many heart attack victims have low magnesium levels in their blood and heart muscles. They even consider magnesium deficiency a contributing factor in atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fats within the arterial walls.
Research into magnesium and heart disease is so encouraging that I don’t know why every cardiologist doesn’t prescribe this mineral as a matter of course. This mineral can treat mild to moderate hypertension as well as some drugs. For instance, a study in the British Medical Journal of one hundred middle-aged and elderly men and women found that magnesium supplements lowered blood pressure by almost eight points. Another study of 30,000 male health professionals found that the combination of dietary fibre, potassium, and magnesium lowered the risk of high blood pressure. A study of German men found that magnesium was beneficial in treating heart attacks, helping to minimise damage. And, a study of early deaths resulting from strokes found that magnesium supplementation was a significant protector.
I’ve seen this repeatedly in my own practice.
A Case In Point
George Lloyd, a 31-year-old interior designer with a bright future [and, a hot temper], was literally saved by magnesium. His job was extremely deadline-driven and required fantastic precision as well as an ability to understand global trends. The first time he walked into my office, he told me that he’d already been in the hospital twice for inflammation of the pancreas and for diabetic complications, and now he had elevated blood pressure as well. He was on medication for his diabetes and blood pressure. I knew I had my work cut out for me –– and, for him.
Blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes and elevated triglycerides. His blood sugar was also elevated, despite his medication.
There was no question that these were a lot of problems for someone so young, and he showed no signs of lessening the intense pace of his career. “I’ve worked ten years to get to this place,” he practically shouted. “I’ve given up a social life, friendships, and a chance at an early family. I’m not about to give up now.”
I agreed with him: he should not give up the life he wanted, but I would have to introduce a lifestyle that would make that possible. The first thing we changed was his diet, taking him off junk-food and sodas and putting him on healthy, fibre-rich foods such as brown rice, barley, healthy vegetables, and lots of fresh fish. I also started him on daily green leafy vegetables, which are high in magnesium, as well as an exercise programme.
Magnesium is a hidden star in the treatment of diabetes and the care of hypertension. His elevated triglycerides were a marker for insulin resistance, a condition that affects up to 20 per cent of the population and is an independent risk factor for heart disease. It is often found in families with a history of diabetes. I knew that magnesium helped the body handle insulin more efficiently and reduced its damaging effects on blood vessels. Magnesium, then, was an answer to both his hypertension and his diabetes.
Indeed, within weeks, magnesium lowered his blood pressure. I then started him on a biofeedback relaxation programme, along with specific aerobic exercises and yoga to build muscle tone and resistance. It’s taken time, over a year now, but his blood pressure, which was once unrestrained, is now under control. He says that his last year has been his most successful to date.
How Does It Work?
How does magnesium heal the heart and blood vessels? Like a symphony conductor, magnesium orchestrates the complex process that keeps the heart beating with regularity and precision. In its function as a cellular lubricator, magnesium is critical to the continued health of our hearts. A severe lack of magnesium can cause muscle spasms, and without enough magnesium present in the blood to play the role of the body’s great relaxer, a coronary artery supplying the heart muscle with oxygen can suddenly clamp shut without warning.
Amazingly enough, 25 per cent of all heart attacks occur in people with clean coronary arteries that are otherwise free of the junk-food-created garbage usually associated with heart disease. So, what’s killing these healthy people? Numerous studies suggest that people who die suddenly from ischaemic heart disease [IHD], an oxygen-starved heart, often have tissues severely depleted of magnesium.
In a study at Johns Hopkins, 18 subjects admitted for cardiac surgery were discovered to have extremely low levels of intracellular magnesium, and intravenous magnesium corrected these levels.
I recently treated a 36-year-old woman who suffered from mitral valve prolapse, a common heart ailment in which a valve in the heart does not close firmly, causing blood to leak backward. Although this is usually not dangerous, it can sometimes cause complex and debilitating symptoms, including chest pain, fatigue, rapid heartbeat, and frequent heart palpitations. Doctors sometimes prescribe drugs known as beta-blockers to steady the rhythm of the heart. Yet this condition is often remarkably responsive to magnesium, which studies show can eliminate symptoms in 50 per cent of cases over a six-month period. I prescribed daily magnesium. Her symptoms steadily improved, and she was able to continue on oral magnesium alone, without symptoms returning.
When we lack magnesium, calcium deposits can accumulate in our soft tissues. The risk of a spasm in the muscular tissue surrounding a coronary artery — the source of all blood and oxygen for the heart — is greater. Since most women taking calcium to prevent bone loss are postmenopausal [and, at greater risk for heart disease], magnesium should be a staple of their diet as well.
Many individuals with coronary artery disease [CAD] are usually placed on drugs called calcium channel blockers, which function to increase magnesium in the cell; their side-effects include dizziness, fatigue, and disorientation.
The American Heart Journal, in an editorial written by leading heart disease researchers, described magnesium as ‘Nature’s channel blocker.’ Magnesium is critical in maintaining the natural balance of calcium both inside and outside cells. Without it, the calcium scale tips too far in one direction, leading to a variety of conditions that can affect the heart and blood vessels. These include problems such as hypertension and heart disease.
