Intracellular free magnesium concentration: relevance to cardiovascular medicine.

There is a growing awareness of the role hypomagnesemia plays in cardiovascular medicine. Recent experimental studies have also provided a new understanding og how Mg2+ ions influence various ion channels and transport mechanisms. Yet, the pathophysiological mechanisms that may be responsible for various phenomena associated with hypomagnesemia, have not been clarified. This is partly due to that there, until recently, has been a lack of convenient and reliable methods for measuring cytosolic free Mg2+ concentration. It is the hope that newly developed techniques for measuring the cytosolic free Mg2+ concentration will prove useful in this respect.