Serum Magnesium, Calcium and Phosphorus status in Heart Failure patients attending tertiary care center of Nepal

Background: Lack of proper diet and use of different medications in heart failure contributes to electrolyte imbalance. Due to absence of routine measurement, their abnormalities are not recognized. This study is an attempt to portrait a picture of serum levels of electrolytes in heart failure patients Materials and Methods: 102 heart failure patients were enrolled in this study over 6 months period. Serum levels of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and albumin were measured. SPSS ver. 20.0 was used to analyze the data. Analysis of Variance was used to find mean differences and Pearson’s correlation was used to establish the correlation. Results: Majority of patient fell under New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II and had isolated systolic heart failure. Mean serum values of sodium and magnesium were below the reference range. Mean values of serum sodium, magnesium and corrected calcium was less in patients receiving diuretics and digitalis. Likewise, serum phosphorus was more with diuretics and digitalis use. Also, serum sodium was less in Acetylcholine Eseterose (ACE) inhibitors use. Isolated diastolic heart failure patients had least serum calcium values. Although, serum sodium and magnesium value in heart failure patients was positively correlated, was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study showed that low serum sodium and magnesium values are frequently associated in heart failure. Disturbances in other serum electrolytes could also be other cause of complications in heart failure which are not under routine investigation. Identification and correction of these disturbances could have significant impact. However, further studies are required to reinforce this idea.