Coenzyme Q10 cuts all-cause mortality in half , according to the results of a multicenter, double-blind, randomized trial presented at the 2013 Congress on Heart Failure in Lisbon, Portugal, organized by the European Society of Cardiology. Its effect is so pronounced that it should be added immediately to standard treatment, as suggested by the study’s lead author, Svend Aage Mortensen, of Denmark.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) occurs naturally in the body and is essential for survival. It works as an electron transporter in the mitochondria – the powerhouse of cells – to produce energy. In addition, it is a powerful antioxidant , what is more, the only antioxidant that the human body synthesizes by itself.
CoQ10 levels are depleted in the heart muscle of patients with heart failure , the deficit of this molecule becoming more and more pronounced as the disease worsens. Statins are used to treat many heart failure patients because they block cholesterol synthesis, but these drugs also inhibit CoQ10 synthesis. Until now, several double-blind controlled trials had shown that administering CoQ10 improves symptoms, functional capacity, and quality of life in heart failure patients without side effects. But none had focused on its effects on survival.
Less chance of dying
The Q-SYMBIO study selected 420 patients from nine countries on different continents with severe heart failure and randomized them to either CoQ10 or a placebo. A two-year follow-up revealed that CoQ10 cut the risk of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in half, as well as halving the chances of dying from all causes . Thus, in the group that consumed CoQ10, 18 patients (9 percent) died, compared with 36 patients (17 percent) in the placebo group. Individuals treated with CoQ10 had significantly lower cardiovascular mortality and a lower incidence of hospitalizations for heart failure.
Mortensen assures that, while other medications used to combat heart failure block rather than improve cellular processes and can have side effects, “taking supplements with coenzyme Q10, which is a natural and safe substance, corrects a deficiency in the body and blocks the vicious metabolic cycle in chronic heart failure called the energy starved heart . “
CoQ10 is present in food, including red meat, plants, and fish, but the levels are not high enough to have an impact on heart failure. CoQ10 is also sold over the counter as a dietary supplement, but as Mortensen warns, “Food supplements can influence the effect of other medications such as blood thinners, and patients should consult their doctor before taking them.”
