Hypomagnesemia

Hypomagnesemia
Magnesium
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Cardiology, endocrinology
ICD-10	E83.4
ICD-9-CM	275.2
DiseasesDB	6469
MedlinePlus	000315
eMedicine	med/3382 emerg/274 ped/1122
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Hypomagnesemia, also spelled hypomagnesaemia, is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is a low level of magnesium in the blood. Normal magnesium levels are between 1.7–2.2 mg/dL with levels less than 1.7 mg/dL (0.7 mmol/L) defining hypomagnesemia. Symptoms include tremor, nystagmus, seizures, and cardiac arrest including torsade de pointes.

Causes include alcoholism, starvation, diarrhea, increased urinary loss, and poor absorption from the intestines. Hypomagnesemia is not necessarily magnesium deficiency. Hypomagnesemia can be present without magnesium deficiency and vice versa. Specific electrocardiogram (ECG) changes may be seen.

For those with severe disease intravenous magnesium sulfate may be used.

The prefix hypo- means under (contrast with hyper-, meaning over). The root 'magnes' refers to magnesium. The suffix of the word, -emia, means 'in the blood.'

Deficiency of magnesium can cause tiredness, generalized weakness, muscle cramps, abnormal heart rhythms, increased irritability of the nervous system with tremors, paresthesias, palpitations, hypokalemia, hypoparathyroidism which might result in hypocalcemia, chondrocalcinosis, spasticity and tetany, epileptic seizures, basal ganglia calcifications and in extreme and prolonged cases coma, intellectual disability or death. Other symptoms that have been suggested to be associated with hypomagnesemia are athetosis, jerking, nystagmus, and an extensor plantar reflex, confusion, disorientation, hallucinations, depression, hypertension and fast heart rate.

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