Prevalence of hypomagnesemia and hypokalemia in patients with st elevation mi and its relationship with occurrence of arrhythmias

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrhythmia is often present in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and may be due to electrolyte imbalance. AIM: To assess the prevalence and clinical significance of electrolyte imbalance in ACS-STEMI. METHODS: Serum potassium and magnesium levels were measured within the first 48 hours in 100 consecutive patients with ACS admitted to our ICCU department over a period of 12 months. Cardiac arrhythmia was documented using continuous cardiac monitoring or standard ECG. RESULTS: Low serum magnesium levels and low potassium levels was observed in 41% and 38% of patients with ACS respectively. The mean serum magnesium levels in sinus tachycardia and ventricular ectopic is 1.77 mg/dl and 1.75 mg/dl respectively. The mean serum magnesium levels in patients with ventricular tachycardia is 1.44 mg/dl and mean serum potassium level is 2.7 meq/l which was statistically significant with p value 0.008 CONCLUSION: Hypokalemia and hypomagnesaemia are often present in patients with ACS. They are associated with dangerous ventricular arrhythmias. This study was designed to assess the prevalence of such abnormalities and its association with arrhythmias