Severe magnesium deficiency can cause problems with the function of your nervous system and heart. It can lead to things like muscle spasms, seizures, or heart arrhythmias. Oral or intravenous magnesium can supplement a low magnesium level. But it's important to find and address the underlying cause.
Severe hypermagnesemia (levels greater than 12 mg/dL) can lead to cardiovascular complications (hypotension, and arrhythmias) and neurological disorder (confusion and lethargy). Higher values of serum magnesium (exceeding 15 mg/dL) can induce cardiorespiratory arrest and coma.
Magnesium deficiency can cause a wide variety of features including hypocalcaemia, hypokalaemia and cardiac and neurological manifestations. Chronic low magnesium state has been associated with a number of chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis.
Brief Summary: Hypomagnesemia is a common entity in the inpatient and outpatient setting. in previous retrospective study hypomagnesemic patients have higher mortality and longer hospitalization.
Magnesium is also known for its role in the electrical stability and energy balance of cardiomyocytes. Hypomagnesemia has been associated with atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and low serum magnesium could therefore also be a risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD).
If there is any underlying gut bacteria imbalance or other nutrient deficiencies and these are fixed, magnesium levels should start to improve within 2-4 weeks. However, everyone is different and deficiencies can take a few months for certain individuals.
Chronic magnesium deficiency is often associated with normal serum magnesium despite deficiency in cells and in bone; the response to oral supplementation is slow and may take up to 40 weeks to reach a steady state.
You can test your magnesium levels by purchasing a simple at-home finger prick test kit which is then analysed at an accredited lab. Forth offers a number of blood tests which include magnesium such as our Nutri-check test and Menopause Health blood test.
Women should be getting 320 milligrams per day; men, 420 mg. Older people are at risk for magnesium deficiency because they not only tend to consume less of it than younger adults but also may absorb less from what they eat, and their kidneys may excrete more of it.
Green leafy vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and legumes are great sources of this vital mineral. You may need to supplement with extra magnesium in tablet or powder form if your levels have dipped low.
Fruit juices such as orange juice, cherry juice, and watermelon juice are all good sources of magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. According to the FNDDS, the average school container (124 grams) of 100% orange juice provides : 13.6 mg of magnesium.
Fruits high in magnesium include dried figs, avocados, guavas, bananas, kiwi fruit, papayas, blackberries, raspberries, cantaloupes, and grapefruit. The daily value (DV) for magnesium 420mg per day.
Celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and chronic diarrhea can impair the absorption of magnesium or result in increased magnesium loss.
Hypomagnesemia occurs with both loop diuretics (furosemide, bumetanide, torsemide, and ethacrynic acid) and thiazide diuretics (chlorothiazide, hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide, and metolazone).
Low magnesium intake is associated with increased knee pain in subjects with radiographic knee osteoarthritis: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Osteoarthritis Cartilage.
As a result, magnesium deficiency can lead to serious morbidity and mortality, and has been implicated in multiple cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmia, atherosclerosis, dyslipidaemia and diabetes.
Low serum magnesium levels could be associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke, in part, via effects on hypertension and diabetes. Magnesium is a natural calcium antagonist and modulates vasomotor tone, blood pressure, and peripheral blood flow.
High iCa(2+) has several vasoconstrictive effects which lead to hypertension, an indirect result of low magnesium status. Dietary calcium is directly proportional to dietary magnesium.
One of the implications of low levels of magnesium is muscle fatigue, muscle pain, spasms and cramps, and tension headaches.