B.T. Altura - Type-A behavior and coronary vasospasm: A possible role of hypomagnesemia http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0306987780900936

Abstract

Epidemiological evidence and animal studies have implicated dietary magnesium deficiency in ischemic heart disease. We have found that blood vessels, deficient with respect to extracellular Mg, undergo sustained increases in basal tone, and exhibit increased constriction to circulating vasoactive agents, brought about by an augmented influx of ionized Ca. Other studies in our laboratory have shown that the coronary vasculature is especially sensitive to Mg deficiency. Type A behavior is by definition a personality characterized to be in a state of more or less constant self-induced stress. Plasma free fatty acid levels are known to be increased by all types of stress. This in turn has been recently demonstrated to reduce free ionized levels of Mg in the blood. It is proposed that type A behavior is compatible with an intermittent virtual Mg deficiency which could lead to coronary vasospasm, ischemia and eventual heart tissje necrosis.