[Magnesium and ischemic heart disease]

Our knowledge about magnesium in health and disease has increased during the past ten years. Many authors have demonstrated possible magnesium depletion in the population as a whole and particularly among cardiac patients receiving diuretics. Evidence suggests that this magnesium depletion may play a role in the development of arteriosclerosis. It has been demonstrated that long term supplementation of the diet with magnesium reduces the frequency of heart disease. However, the matter is still not proven. It is postulated further that magnesium depletion aggravates the outcome of acute myocardial infarct and has a tendency to provoke arrhythmia. Finally, it has been shown that the potassium depletion frequently observed among cardiac patients may actually arise from magnesium depletion. On this basis, many authors have employed magnesium therapy in various cardiac diseases. Some authors have demonstrated that magnesium therapy reduces the mortality in AMI patients. These studies are, however, too few and too limited to be conclusive. In order to investigate this question, an international multicentre trial (ISIS-4) will be conducted to investigate the influence of magnesium therapy on the mortality after acute myocardial infarction.