The effects of magnesium (from 1.2 to 7.2 mM) were investigated in isolated perfused rat heart subjected to coronary artery ligation and reperfusion. Increasing magnesium concentrations, of the medium containing 3.00 mM of calcium, induced a significant bradycardia and a protective effect towards reperfusion arrhythmias. A significant correlation was found between the heart rate and the antiarrhythmic activity of increasing magnesium concentrations. The effects of high magnesium concentration (4.8 mM) were also investigated after labelling of internal stores of noradrenaline with [3H]noradrenaline. Without any marked change in the pattern of release of radioactivity, a significant reduction of the sudden release of radioactivity was observed during the reperfusion. However, magnesium did not change the uptake of noradrenaline by the heart. Our results suggest that the antiarrhythmic effect of magnesium might be of importance in the clinical treatment of myocardial ischemia.