Magnesium and Black Hearts

by Kenny Anderson

Magnesium is essential to heart health and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Magnesium is needed to support the electrical activity of the heart, keeping the heart beating over 30 million times a year. Magnesium is also needed for blood pressure regulation and heart rhythm control. 

Magnesium deficits have been linked with cardiovascular disorders: high blood pressure, heart rhythm problems such as atrial fibrillation, cholesterol-clogged coronary arteries, painful spasms of coronary arteries, and sudden cardiac arrest (heart attack). 

Numerous studies show that most Americans are not getting enough magnesium in their diet. Studies shows a staggering 68% of Americans do not consume the recommended daily intake of magnesium 310–420 mg and 19% of Americans do not consume even half of the government’s recommended daily intake of magnesium.

Research has shown that people with a higher intake of magnesium have a lower risk of heart disease. Studies have also revealed that the higher your blood level of magnesium the lower your risk of coronary artery calcification. 

Recent studies cite that low magnesium levels have been found to be the best predictor of heart disease, contrary to the traditional belief that cholesterol or saturated fat play the biggest roles.

Additionally, it has been discovered that higher levels of magnesium are associated with lower levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein which is linked to heart problems. Blacks have the highest rate of heart problems in America; over 40% of Black men and women have heart disease.

Blacks High Level of Chronic Stress and Low Levels of Magnesium

Blacks in America definitely are not getting enough magnesium due to poor diets (over consumption of processed foods) and the depletion of magnesium due to chronic stress. 

Blacks are the most oppressed racial group in America, suffering more chronic stress from institutional racism. Chronic distress includes unending feelings of despair - hopelessness, anger, shame, worry, and grief; poverty, family dysfunctional stress, traumatic experiences, experienced and perceived racial discrimination, neighborhood stress, daily stress, acculturative stress, and environmental stress.

Indeed, chronic stress depletes your body of magnesium leading to magnesium deficiency; the greater your level of stress, the greater the loss of magnesium. Living under constant conditions of mental or physical stress causes magnesium to be released from your blood cells and goes into the blood plasma; from there it's excreted into the urine. 

The lower your initial magnesium level is, the more reactive to stress you become, and the higher your level of adrenaline in stressful situations. Higher adrenaline causes greater loss of magnesium from cells creating a vicious cycle.

Heart health benefits of magnesium include but are not limited to:

*Preventing arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats such as atrial fibrillation)

*Keeping blood vessels healthy

*Supporting normal blood vessel dilation and contraction

*Helping to reduce damage to the heart from oxidative stress

*Boosting the good HDL cholesterol

*Protecting against Type 2 Diabetes

*Anti-inflammatory action

What Are Cardiac Symptoms of a Magnesium Deficiency?

*Heart arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation, PAC’s and PVC’s.

*Elevated blood pressure

*Inflammation

*Blood sugar imbalances

What Are Other Symptoms of a Magnesium Deficiency?

*Insomnia

*Fatigue

*Muscle pain

*Anxiety or stress

*Headaches and migraines

Some Foods High in Magnesium

*Fatty Fish (salmon, mackerel, halibut) 

*Greens (collard, mustard, turnips; kale, spinach)

*Bananas

*Nuts (Brazil nuts, almonds, cashews) 

*Seeds (flax, pumpkin, chia)

*Legumes (beans)

*Avocados

What Are the Best Forms of Magnesium for the Heart?

Of the nine common forms of magnesium there are five that are imperative to heart health. These are magnesium malate, magnesium citrate, magnesium taurinate, magnesium bisglycinate chelate, and magnesium orotate:

*Magnesium Malate: This form consists of magnesium combined with elemental malic acid. This type of magnesium is well absorbed and supports energy levels. Malic acid supports energy production in cells and aids in detoxing heavy metals from the body. It is a highly bioavailable form to support blood pressure, heart rhythm, inflammation and nerve function.

*Magnesium Citrate: This form is magnesium bound to citric acid. It has a high absorption level. It is good for sleep and heart muscle relaxation. It aids in supporting digestion and improving constipation. Again, it is highly bioavailable to support blood pressure, heart rhythm and the heart muscle.

*Magnesium Taurinate: This form, consisting of magnesium and the amino acid taurine, is highly bioavailable to the cells. This form is exceptional for the heart as both the magnesium and taurine can improve the function of the heart muscle. This form can increase ATP (energy) production in the cell, which protects the heart muscle. This type also reduces blood pressure and increases insulin sensitivity, further protecting the heart.

*Magnesium Bisglycinate: This form of magnesium consists of magnesium and the amino acid glycine. It has a high absorption rate. It is also good for sleep and muscle relaxation. It has a calming effect on the nervous system.  This type is chelated and stable so it has a non-laxative effect. Due to its high absorption level, it is helpful in regulating blood pressure, heart rhythms and the cellular activity of the heart muscle.

*Magnesium Orotate: Magnesium orotate is a compound made up of magnesium and orotic acid. This is one the most effective forms of magnesium for heart health. This form can actually penetrate cell membranes and deliver magnesium to the innermost compartments of the cells. It is needed for heart health as it can deliver magnesium to these cells and help with recovery of these tissues. It is also the best way to reverse magnesium deficiencies. Together, all five of these forms work to support the electrical activity of the heart and aid in normal blood pressure regulation.

As Black folks we must understand that our heart muscles has one of the highest needs for magnesium; our hearts need high-quality magnesium to function properly. Due to poor diets and high levels of chronic stress we need to request that our Primary Care Physicians do blood work to check our magnesium levels. Moreover we need to learn and practice stress management, increase eating foods with high levels of magnesium, or take magnesium supplements.  

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Strikes One in Eight Heart Surgery Patients

By Anne Curley

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) usually is associated with military personnel traumatized by combat or people who’ve been victimized by violent crime or sexual assaults.

But new study finds that one in eight patients develop PTSD after experiencing a heart attack or other major heart event. The study, published online in PLoS One, also reveals that heart patients who experience PTSD face double the risk for another heart event or dying within one to three years, compared to heart patients who do not experience PTSD.

Scientists from Columbia University Medical Center performed the first meta-analysis of studies examining PTSD induced by major heart events. The studies included almost 2,400 patients who experienced acute coronary syndrome or ACS, an umbrella term medical professionals use to describe any condition that reduces blood flow to the heart, including heart attacks and unstable angina.

“Everybody is expected to have some disruption after a life threatening event such as a heart attack,” explained lead study author Donald Edmondson, assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, “but after a month we expect people to mostly get back to normal.” Edmondson said their research focused on studies of patients who experienced symptoms of PTSD more than one months after their heart event.

“These studies measured PTSD symptoms intrusive thoughts about the heart attack – out of nowhere that sort of fight or flight response to these memories. People also have nightmares about the event, they have sleep disruptions, they actively avoid thinking about the heart attack, they try to manage their thoughts,” said Edmondson.

More than 1.4 million people in the U.S. are discharged each year from hospitals after suffering acute coronary syndrome, explained Edmondson, If 12% of those patients experience clinically significant symptoms of PTSD, that means that 168,000 patients could experience PTSD each year after heart events.

While medical professionals are keenly aware of the association that has been shown between depression and heart attacks, Edmondson believes that making patients, their families and medical professionals aware of the incidence of PTSD after heart events is critical.

Edmondson said when he’s discussed findings about PTSD with cardiologists, they’ve told him 'I thought these were funny depression symptoms. I knew there was something wrong here but I didn’t have a language for it.'  

Edmondson said that while PTSD and depression often travel together, "PTSD symptoms are unique – the experience of intrusive thoughts, the nightmares, the inability to shake thinking certain thoughts, the fight or flight symptoms are unique to PTSD. For a patient or a cardiologist who’s not looking for PTSD, once you know the symptoms, they sort of jump out and they’re unique to PTSD."

“Despite the variation in the estimates of the prevalence PTSD appears to be a reasonably common occurrence after ACS and seems to be associated with worse outcomes,” said Dr. Gordon F. Tomaselli, president of the American Heart Association.  "Further study is warranted but practitioners need to be alert to the possibly of PTSD after ACS and should institute treatment.”

“Physicians and patients have to be aware that this is a problem. Family members can also help,” said Edmondson.  "There are good treatments for people with PTSD,” Edmondson noted, explaining that the best treatment is an “exposure based talk therapy," in which the patient talks about the traumatic experience, reliving it in an effort to desensitize them to the event.