CoQ10 for heart failure: safe, effective, saves lives

Posted on Mon, 11 Jan 16

The nutritional supplement CoQ10 is coming of age as a treatment for heart failure with evidence showing it is safe, effective and can save lives, according to a new review in the journal Open Heart.

“Heart failure is responsible for one in nine deaths in the USA,” point out the authors of a new review on CoQ10 for heart failure. And although “there have been major improvements in pharmacological management of heart failure, mortality rates continue to exceed 10% per year, reaching between 20% to 50% in severe cases.”

Enter CoQ10; studied for decades as a nutritional intervention for cardiovascular disease, CoQ10 has shown considerable promise as a therapy for heart failure with recent evidence showing it can reduce mortality.

The review tracks the history and current state of the science on CoQ10 for heart failure. Early reports demonstrated declines in CoQ1O in the heart itself that decline with increasing severity of heart failure. Then pilot studies went on to indicates important improvements in heart function with CoQ10 supplementation, findings that were then strengthened by later meta-analyses.

More recently an important clinical trial of CoQ10 (100mg three times daily) in heart failure patients demonstrated significant improvements in symptoms, and reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart attacks as well as cardiovascular deaths.

“In light of the excellent tolerance and affordability of this natural physiological compound, supplemental CoQ10 has emerged as an attractive option in the management of heart failure, and merits evaluation in additional large studies,” concluded the review.

Reference:

DiNicolantonio JJ, Bhutani J, McCarty MF, O'Keefe JH. Coenzyme Q10 for the treatment of heart failure: a review of the literature. Open Heart. 2015 Oct 19;2(1):e000326.