Magnesium??

Ive has pacs/pvcs for over a year! All tests have came back completely normal. Had 2 echoes and several ecg's. My blood work was normal. My magnesium was 1.9, which I know is in the normal range. But, I have read alot about magnesium benefiting people with heart palpitations. So my question is, do you think 1.9 is on the low end and would I benefit from taking magnesium supplements?

[michellepetkus]

A doctor would probably be the best person to advise you on that but my doctor basically told me if your body doesn't need it you will just pee it out so it sounds like you can try and see if it will help.  From what I have heard it can help to some extent but I don't think it will totally rid you of the pacs/pvcs.  So how many are you having a day?  Are they causing a lot of symptoms for you?  

[aembry]

My doctor told me I could take a multivitamin but I dont think most of them have alot of magnesium in them. When i wore my holter I had like 250 in 24 hra but I think they have gotten somewhat better since then so probabaly alot less.  They dont cause alot of symptoms just lots of anxiety.

[mzak69]

Try it and see if it helps. If your body is low on magnesium, it will make a difference and you will know. In my case it had no effect on PVCs.

Make sure to use the magnesium citrate or taurate form, not oxide which is not well absorbed and won't get into your system.

By the way, you may see an increase in your trips to the bathroom; it can have a laxative effect. Good luck.  

[Madge270]

I have heartburn often and was on Nexium for several years. Two years ago, I suddenly developed about 8500 PVCs a day (according to a two-day Holter monitor I wore).  I lived with the PVCs for over a year, and then I I began having diarrhea from Nexium.  I started tapering off of Nexium, substituting Mylanta tablets (combo of calcium and magnesium) at the advice of my doctor. (I'd already tried other meds similar to Nexium or Pepcid, and had side effects from those too.)

As I began tapering off Nexium, my PVCs began to lessen.  Now that I'm on just Mylanta tablets (three or four a day are enough if I eat carefully), the PVCs are completely gone.  The doctor says that there is now evidence that prescription antacids (not Tums or Mylanta) reduce not only calcium and B vitamins but also magnesium levels. And our hearts need magnesium for normal function. Also:  because of a large dairy farm near our home, we had to put in a reverse osmosis water system. That filters out all minerals, so I was no longer getting magnesiumin our drinking water. Our doctor thinks that the lack of magnesium may have been the problem for me. I'm reserving judgment, but am hopeful that by taking additional small amounts of magnesium and stopping the Nexium, I may be free of the PVCs.

I do have another, less serious but bothersome problem now, though.   I now get episodes of a pounding heart after meals and after even mild exertion.  The heartbeat is strong and I can hear it in my right ear. It's very regular, and I can feel it, especially in the back of my neck. But at least it's regular.  My blood pressure doesn't go up, so it's not that.  I also had treadmill stress test recently, and my cardiologist said my blood pressure was just fine.  

If you're still reading this (sorry about the length), I just wanted to mention that if you take heartburn meds or drink water with no or very little magnesium, adding a little more magnesium might help you. (I do know that everyone is different and it may not work for everyone.)

Now if I could figure out why I get this hard, throbbing heartbeat from just going up stairs, etc., I'd be happy. I never had this when I had the PVCs. Strange.  Any ideas?