Treatment of Heart Disease with Coenzyme Q10
Since its discovery in the late 1950s Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has
received much attention as a necessary compound for proper cellular
function. It is the essential coenzyme necessary for the production
of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) upon which all cellular functions
depend. Without ATP our bodies cannot function properly.
Without CoQ10, ATP cannot function. This connection has made
CoQ10 a very important object of study in relation to chronic
disease. In many cases the presence of chronic disease is associated
with inadequate levels of CoQ10. But no area of study has received
more attention than the relation between CoQ10 and heart disease.
That is because CoQ10 is believed to be of fundamental importance
in cells with high metabolic demands such as cardiac cells. A
further reason the connection of heart disease and CoQ10 has gained
so much attention is because heart conditions of many kinds are
associated with chronically low CoQ10 levels
CoQ10 is highly concentrated in heart muscle cells because of
their high energy requirements. Add this to the fact that heart
disease is the number one killer in developed and developing countries
and one can see why the bulk of scientific research on CoQ10 has
been concerned with heart disease.
Specifically, studies on congestive heart failure have demonstrated
a strong correlation between the severity of heart failure and
the degree of CoQ10 deficiency. The lower the levels of CoQ10
in the heart muscles the more severe the heart failure. If indeed
CoQ10 deficiency is a primary cause of congestive heart failure
then, in such cases, the remedy is simple and cost effective;
CoQ10 supplementation.
Congestive heart failure is a condition where the heart does
not pump effectively resulting in an accumulation of fluid in
the lungs. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, difficulty
breathing when lying flat and leg or ankle swelling.
Causes include chronic hypertension, cardiomyopathy (primary
heart disease) and myocardial infarction (irreversible injury
to heart muscles). Heart muscle strength is measure by the ejection
fraction which is a measure of the fraction of blood pumped out
of the heart with each beat. A low ejection fraction indicates
a weak heart.
Several trials have been conducted involving patients with enlarged
weak heart muscles of unknown causes. For those of you who like
difficult phrases this condition (or variety of conditions) is
known as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.
In these trials CoQ10 supplementation was compared to placebo
effects. Standard treatments for heart failure were not discontinued.
The results were measured by echocardiography (a diagnostic test
which uses ultrasound waves to make images of the heart chambers,
valves and surrounding structures)
The overall results of CoQ10 supplementation demonstrated a
steady and continued improvement in heart function as well as
steady and continued reduction in patient symptoms including fatigue,
chest pains, palpitations and breathing difficulty. Patients with
more establish and long-term cases showed gradual improvement
but did not gain normal heart function. Patients with newer cases
of heart failure demonstrated much more rapid improvement often
returning to normal heart function.
Papers numbering in the hundreds from eight different symposia have been written and presented on the effects of CoQ10 on heart disease. International clinical studies have also been conducted in the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy and Sweden. Together these studies and the papers that have been derived from them demonstrate significant improvement in heart muscle function while causing no adverse effects.
One particular area of study involves diastolic dysfunction which
is one of the earliest signs of myocardial failure. Diastole is
the phase of the cardiac cycle when the heart is filled with returning
blood. Because this phase requires more cellular energy than the
systolic phase (when the blood is pushed out of the heart) it
is more dependent on CoQ10.
Diastolic dysfunction is a stiffening of the heart muscle which
naturally restricts the hearts ability to pump. This condition
is associated with many cardiac disorders. Hypertension is among
these disorders. As the heart muscles become stiff there is often
a corresponding rise in blood pressure. When the diastolic dysfunction
is reversed, blood pressure tends to lower as well.
In one study involving 109 patients with hypertension, CoQ10
supplementation was added to normal hypertension treatments. In
an average of 4.4 months 51% of the patients were able stop using
at least one blood pressure lowering medication. Some were able
to stop using up to three medications. Another study produced
similar results. In that study 43% of 424 patients were able to
stop using between one and three cardiovascular drugs because
of CoQ10 supplementation.
These examples are just a drop in the bucket. Diastolic dysfunction
(and by proxy, hypertension) includes only a small sampling of
heart conditions that respond favorably to CoQ10 supplementation.
Other areas of research show great promise for CoQ10 treatments.
Among these are cancer and AIDS. But such conditions are beyond
the scope of this essay. CoQ10 is essential to the proper functioning
of all cell types. It is not surprising, therefore, to find a
diverse number of diseases that respond favorably to CoQ10 supplementation.
Since all metabolically active tissues are highly sensitive to
CoQ10 deficiency, we can expect to see CoQ10 research expand to
many other areas of chronic diseases.
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