The role of magnesium in blood pressure has been studied among hypertensive patients; however, there is a dearth of studies exploring the role of magnesium in hypertensive crises. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum magnesium and blood pressure in patients with hypertensive crises. This was a single-center, retrospective, chart review, cross-sectional study of patients with hypertensive crises. Patients were included if they were eighteen years of age or older, with an international classification disease ninth revision (ICD-9) code of 401.9 (hypertensive crises: emergency or urgency) and a documented magnesium level on their electronic medical record. The primary outcome of the study was the correlation between serum magnesium and blood pressure (systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure) in patients with hypertensive crises. Two hundred and ninety-three patients were included in the study. The primary outcome result showed that serum magnesium was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.143, p = 0.014), but not diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion: This study found a significant positive association between magnesium and systolic blood pressure, but not diastolic blood pressure, among patients with hypertensive crises. This positive association of serum magnesium with systolic blood pressure was maintained after adjusting for covariates. This study's findings suggest a potential role of magnesium in blood pressure among patients with hypertensive crises.
Keywords: blood pressure; hypertensive crises; magnesium.