Study Finds A Link Between Serum Magnesium & Systolic Blood Pressure

Multiple observational clinical studies and a meta-analysis have evaluated the relationship between serum magnesium and blood pressure in patients with and without hypertension. However, there is a dearth of studies that have evaluated the association of serum magnesium and blood pressure in patients with hypertensive crises. Therefore, Dr Onor Ifeanyichukwu O and his team conducted a study to evaluate the relationship between serum magnesium and blood pressure in patients with hypertensive crises.

In a single-centre, retrospective, chart review, cross-sectional study, the researchers included 293 patients with an international classification disease ninth revision (ICD-9) code of 401.9 (hypertensive crises: emergency or urgency) and a documented magnesium level on their electronic medical record. The major outcome assessed was the correlation between serum magnesium and blood pressure (systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure) in patients with hypertensive crises.

Key findings of the study were:

• Upon correlation and linear regression analyses, the researchers found a significant positive correlation between serum magnesium and SBP (r = 0.143).
• However, they found no significant relationship between serum magnesium and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).
• When assessing the relationship between the additional electrolytes reviewed (calcium, corrected calcium, and potassium) and blood pressure, they observed that serum calcium was significantly correlated with SBP at crises but not DBP at crises.

The authors concluded, "This study found a significant positive association between magnesium and systolic blood pressure, but not diastolic blood pressure, among patients with hypertensive crises. This positive association of serum magnesium with systolic blood pressure was maintained after adjusting for covariates…Future studies should also evaluate the role of serum calcium-modifying therapies in blood pressure control in patients with hypertensive crises."

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124213