Vitamin D3 is extremely important in the maintenance of a healthy heart.  Also of importance are magnesium and its extreme importance in maintaining the ‘electrical balance’ in the heart.  I know of two women that had years of heart arrhythmias and were on medications without success of solving the issue.  Both of these women within a day of supplementing with magnesium discovered that the arrhythmia was gone.  Two different cardiologists in two different cities were simply applying the knowledge that they had without success.

It is not like this is new information and that it is not published in the medical science.  This evidence was published in 1978:

Relationship between death-rates from coronary heart disease and the average dietary calcium/magnesium ratio in several countries

Karpmannen, H., Pennanen, R. and Passinen, L. 1978. Adv. Cardiol. 25: 9-24

You may read the full paper at Magnesium Online Library and many other papers: http://www.mgwater.com/minerals.shtml

As you can see from the graph, the closer that magnesium and calcium intake are balanced, the lower the rate of death from cardiovascular heart disease.  I am not sure why there is such a resistance to following the science in treating heart patients.  I suspect that one of the very real issues is that there is no mainstream test to measure cellular magnesium.  If you are deplete in magnesium, it can take six months to a year to raise the cellular level to a desired value with regular supplementation.  However, to my knowledge there is no test to tell if you are replete at the cellular level.  The importance of the cells being filled with their need for magnesium is that magnesium is the mineral of choice of the one thousand to two thousand mitochondrial bodies in each cell.  The mitochondrial bodies are your energy engines that take the food you eat and convert it into energy that your body can use.  That is the ADP –ATP cycle for those of you with knowledge of biology.

More importantly is the balance of magnesium and calcium.  The body uses over twenty five percent of the energy produced to keep magnesium and calcium on the correct sides of cellular membranes for health.  If you do not have enough magnesium, then the mitochondria cannot provide the energy you need.  I suspect that most if not all sudden heart events are triggered by a need of magnesium at the cellular level.  This may include sudden infant death syndrome.  Since there is not a standard test for cellular magnesium, it most likely will not even be found during autopsy.  If you have had a pace maker installed, be sure to ask your cardiologist about magnesium.  I have nagged my wife repeatedly, a clinical chemist, to develop this test.  I am sure that if it was easy she would have.

We typically get enough calcium in our diets.  We do not have enough magnesium in our diets.  As you can see from the graph, it is obvious that in Japan there is adequate magnesium and thus the lower rate of death from heart disease.  Also the need for healthy bones is to have enough magnesium, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2 to direct the calcium to proper function.  One cardiologist that has it right is Dr. William Davis that writes the popular Track Your Plaque Blog.   You may read an article on magnesium from his blog here: http://www.trackyourplaque.com/blog/2010/02/magnesium-and-arrhythmia.html  His inquirer had a similar experience with heart arrhythmias as the people I know.  I hope that he writes more soon on how much magnesium is needed.

Until modern medicine comes up with a way to test for cellular magnesium, then you are on your own to assure your intake level is high enough.  I think Krispin, a nutritionist, has it correct.  Read her take on magnesium requirements and why: http://www.krispin.com/magnes.html  The really good thing about magnesium is that it takes about three time more than you need to reach bowel tolerance.  Magnesium is an excellent laxative. The upper side of intake is 4.5 mg of magnesium per pound of body weight per day.

It is difficult for me to believe that Japan has a death rate from heart disease that is 5 times lower than the US and the medical profession acts like it is clueless.  Arrhythmias, muscle cramps, and hard stool, you need to act quickly – pandemic survivor.