Heal Your Heart With CoQ10
Author: Al Sears, M.D.
Source: The Doctor’s Heart Cure
Some of the most impressive studies on CoQ10 researched the role of the supplement in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. In a landmark study, Dr. Folkers and his colleagues found CoQ10 deficiency in a majority of people with heart disease. Researchers measured the levels of CoQ10 in heart tissue biopsies. And they found low levels of CoQ10 in 50 to 75 percent of patients with various types of heart disease.1
The next round of studies looked at whether taking supplemental CoQ10 could help prevent or reverse heart disease. Since the 1970s, more than 50 studies demonstrated the effectiveness of CoQ10 in the treatment of people with heart disease. Dr. Folkers and Dr. Peter Langsjoen, a cardiologist in Tyler, Texas, conducted a remarkable study between 1985 and 1993. They observed 424 people who received CoQ10 and conventional medicine treatments for heart disease. Doctors then assessed patient progress according to the New York Heart Association functional scale. The heart disease ratings range from I (the least serious) to TV (the most serious). After taking CoQ10, 58 percent of the patients improved one category, 28 percent moved up two categories, and 1.2 percent moved up three categories! In addition, 43 percent of the patients cut back or eliminated their cardiac medication.
CoQ10 also helps lower blood pressure. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the Journal of Human Hypertension followed two groups of people with hypertension. One group took CoQ10 for eight weeks while the other group took a placebo. The CoQ10 group showed a significant reduction in blood pressure.2 Molecular Aspects of Medicine reported another fascinating study about patients taking CoQ10 and prescription drugs for high blood pressure. Researchers found that more than half of all patients on blood pressure drugs were able to stop using their medications when they began taking supplemental CoQ10. In a University of Texas study, people with high blood pressure took oral CoQ10. Within one month, they experienced marked improvements in blood pressure. Overall, 51 percent of subjects were able to discontinue their blood pressure medication.3
CoQ10 offers results with very little risk of unwanted side effects. Many medications for cardiovascular disease have unpleasant side effects, including fatigue, nausea, and dizziness. CoQ10 offers many of the same health benefits as prescription drugs do – without their harmful side effects.
1. Folkers K, Wolsniuk J, Simonsen R, et al., Biochemical rationale and the cardiac response of patients with muscle disease to therapy with coenzyme Q10. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 1985 Jul; 82(13):4513-4516.
2. Singh RB, Niaz MA, Rostogi SS, et al. Effect of hydrosoluble coenzyme Q10 on blood pressure in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease. Journal of Human Hypertension. 1999 Mar; 13(3):203-208.
3. Langsjoen P, Willis R, and Folkers K. Treatment of essential hypertension with coenzyme Q10. Molecular Aspects of Medicine. 1994; 15 Suppl:5265-272.