Monday Oct 21, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking oral magnesium supplements helps lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients with systolic blood pressure greater than 155 mmHg who are on anti-hypertensive medications, according to a study published in the Oct 16, 2013 issue of Magnesium Research.

A. Rosanoff and M.R. Plesset from Center for Magnesium Education & Research in Pahoa, HI, USA meta-analyzed data from seven studies of 135 hypertensive subjects with a mean starting systolic blood pressure greater than 155 mmHg who had been on anti-hypertensive medications for at least six months and with no more than a two-week washout, oral magnesium supplementation lowered systolic blood pressure by 18.7 mmHg, which is very significant.  Similarly, magnesium supplements also lowered diastolic blood pressure by 10.9 mmHg, which is also significant.

Earlier, the researchers meta-analyzed 44 human studies on oral magnesium supplementation and blood pressure and found the results were inconsistent.  The current meta-analysis was based on studies of a uniform subset of hypertensive subjects whose systolic blood pressure was greater than 155 mmHg. (DL)