Since the 1960’s there have been numerous controlled clinical
trials concerning the relationship between congestive heart
failure and Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). As its name implies CoQ10 is a
coenzyme that is necessary for the proper functioning of other
substances, one of the most important of which is ATP (adenosine
triphosphate). ATP is necessary for the production of cellular
energy. By proxy CoQ10 is likewise essential for this process.
Clinical trials have attempted to study the relationship between
CoQ10 and many chronic diseases including, but not limited to,
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heart disease, cancer and AIDS. But heart disease has gained the
most attention; congestive heart failure being one of the
primary subjects. Because heart muscle cells require so much
energy to function and CoQ10 is at the core of the cellular
energy process it makes sense to suspect that congestive heart
failure might be linked to CoQ10 deficiency. With that theory in
mind many studies like the ones that follow have been conducted.
These trials have been presented in this essay in thumbnail
format.
One early Japanese trial (1972) involved 197 patients with
varying levels of severity of cardiac failure. The study
reported significant improvement of cardiac function
supplementing with 30 mg per day of CoQ10. Another Japanese
study demonstrated similar results with 38 patients also
supplementing with 30 mg. In 1985 a U.S. clinical study
prescribed daily supplementation with 100 mg of the coenzyme for
treatment periods of three months for patients with low ejection
fraction measurements. The ejection fraction is the measure of
the heart’s ability to pump blood. A low ejection fraction is a
classic symptom of congestive heart failure. Again,
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improvements in heart function were reported. Other clinical
trials followed prescribing the same level of supplementation
with similar results.
Studies in the early 1990s showed improvement for patients
suffering from ischemic cardiomyopathy (a low oxygen state
usually due to obstruction) with supplemental levels of 200 mg
per day. Supplementing with 100 mg per day demonstrated
improvement for patients suffering from idiopathic dilated
cardiomyopathy,
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One of the largest trials of the 1990s involves 641 patients
randomly divided into two groups. The first group received a
placebo. The other group received CoQ10 supplements. During the
one-year follow-up period 118 patients in the placebo group were
hospitalized for heart failure compared to 73 in the group that
received the supplements.
All of the preceding trials were relatively short-term studies.
The level of improvement among patients varied depending on how
long they had been suffering from some aspect of congestive
heart failure. Through the years it has become increasing clear
that the greatest improvements were shown in patients that had
suffered from their condition the least amount of time. In other
words, the longer a person had been suffering from the disease
before he or she received CoQ10 treatments the less improvement
was demonstrated. People who had received treatments early in
the development of the disease showed the most dramatic
improvement often returning to normal heart function. Long-term
sufferers received less relief and were less likely to return to
full heart function. Whatever the reasons for this disparity in
health improvement, it demonstrates the importance of receiving
treatment as early as possible.
But what about long-term studies? Do they show the same marked
improvement with similar treatment? In the short-term trials it
was apparent that even high level supplementing with CoQ10
seemed to produce no ill effects. In order to determine if this
is only true for short durations a number of long-term studies
were conducted.
In 1990 observations were published concerning 126 patients with
dilated cardiomyopathy. Unlike previously noted studies this one
followed the patients’ progress for six years. Long-term
benefits from CoQ10 supplementing were noticed with no harmful
side effects. Similar observations were made in a trial
involving 2,664 patients treated with CoQ10 at levels up to 150
mg per day.
A 1994 study involving 424 patients with a variety of myocardial
(refers to the heart's muscle mass) diseases. Among these
conditions were the following: Valvular heart disease
(pertaining to dysfunction of heart valves), hypertension,
diastolic dysfunction (failure of the heart to properly refill
itself with blood), dilated cardiomyopathy (group of disorders
where the heart muscle is weakened and enlarged and cannot pump
effectively) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (low oxygen state
usually due to obstruction of the arterial blood supply).
Patients were treated with an average of 240 mg of CoQ10 daily
during their treatment period. They were then followed-up for up
to eight years with an average follow-up period of 18 months.
Overall results demonstrated measurable cardiac improvements in
one month with maximum improvements at about six months. With
continued CoQ10 treatment the improvement in most patients was
sustained. However, discontinuing the treatment usually resulted
in a decline of cardiac function with eventual return to
pre-treatment conditions.
As always in the medical community many more studies will need
to be conducted to determine the future of CoQ10 treatment.
However, the research to date seems to support CoQ10 as a viable
treatment for many diseases that are caused or exacerbated by
inadequate production of cellular energy.
http://www.optimal-heart-health.com/coq10.html
About the author:
Greg has degrees in science, divinity and philosophy and is
currently an I.T. developer.