Treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction with intravenous magnesium.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) accounts for a large number of deaths annually. The major cause of early deaths is ventricular fibrillation. During the past few years, intravenous magnesium has been instituted as a therapy for AMI. This report reviews the latter literature and discusses the potential mechanisms whereby intravenous Mg is beneficial in AMI. Intravenous Mg is a safe and inexpensive drug whose use reduces the incidence of arrhythmias, infarct size and early mortality following AMI.