[Efficacy and limits of magnesium therapy in extrasystole].

This study was carried out on a group of 19 patients with extrasystolic arrhythmia, the origin of which was atrial and/or ventricular. Its mean value was at least one extrasystole per minute. The patients were monitored by Holter for 24 h. In this population, we found a plasmatic and/or erythrocytic hypomagnesemia in two thirds of the patients. The simultaneous finding of an extrasystolic arrhythmia and of a lowering of magnesium values might be a mere coincidence. Treatment with intravenous magnesium salts did not significantly reduce the frequency of extrasystolic beats in any of our patients, utilizing the criteria of Morganroth, which are rather stringent. However, our treatment was beneficial in some cases; we noticed an average decrease of 20% in the extrasystolic beats during the 24-hour period. This response to magnesium treatment is somewhat irregular; some patients do not react at all. On the other hand, 3 patients reacted to our treatment during this period of 24 h with a decrease of 80% in their extrasystolic beats. We did not determine whether this effect remains after these first 24 h. It might be interesting to follow up these arrhythmias for several weeks after magnesium intake treatment, especially in patients having a proven deficiency at the beginning of this treatment. It seems beneficial, a priori, to remedy a magnesium-deficient state in any patient who has a persistent extrasystolic arrhythmia.