Heart failure is increasing at epidemic rates for men as well as women, who for the first time represent a large proportion of new cases. As reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association, scientists researched the link between magnesium intake and heart failure in a cohort from the Women’s Health Initiative.

The 97,725 women who were studied were given a validated food questionnaire and separated into quartiles based on dietary and supplemental magnesium intake, and researchers correlated the association between magnesium intake and heart failure. The scientists found that (comparing highest to lowest) low magnesium intake was associated with an 81 percent increase in heart failure, as well as low heart ejection fraction.

When I began my medical training, I saw very few heart failure patients. It just wasn’t a common illness. Today, things are different, with much younger patients being diagnosed.

There are many reasons for this, including being overweight, nutritional deficiencies, toxicities, and statin use.

A deficiency of magnesium is detrimental to all the muscles in the body, including the heart. Magnesium is woefully deficient in most people’s diet. I have been recommending magnesium supplements for more than 25 years. Magnesium deficiency can easily be diagnosed via a red blood cell magnesium blood test or hair mineral testing.