Coenzyme Q and Heart Health

- The Naturachol team.

Coenzyme Q10 or ubiquinone, commonly known as CoQ10, is a biological compound involved in cellular metabolism. Recent data indicate that CoQ10 affects the expression of genes involved in human cell signalling and intracellular transport. The human body produces CoQ10 naturally, but its production tends to decrease with age¹. CoQ10 levels can also decrease due to genetic mutations, mitochondrial diseases, age related oxidative stress and as a secondary effect of statin treatment². Many neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, cancer, fibromyalgia, muscular and cardiovascular diseases have been associated with decreased levels of CoQ10². Fortunately, CoQ10 can be obtained through supplements and foods. And such supplementation has shown to be beneficial especially for cardiovascular health.

How does CoQ10 affect heart health?

Studies suggest that CoQ10, either alone or combined with other therapies, can benefit the heart in multiple ways.

For instance, studies have shown that CoQ10 supplements can significantly increase HDL-Cholesterol levels, even in people taking statins³. This in turn can reduce the risk of heart disease as HDL-Cholesterol, also known as good cholesterol, has been postulated to reduce plaque deposition in blood vessel⁴.

CoQ10 supplementation also lowers levels of inflammatory biomarkers shown to be risk factors for cardiovascular disease⁵. For instance, CoQ10 has be shown to reduce circulating levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Finally, low CoQ10 levels have been associated with greater tissue damage to the heart during a heart attack and the brain during stroke⁶.

CoQ10 reduces the incidence of Statin-related muscle symptoms.

The class of drugs call statins are the leading prescription treatment for patients with elevated cholesterol. Although statin therapy can significantly reduce heart attack and stroke risk, up to 25 percent of patients quit treatment within six months due to side effects, such as muscle aches and weakness⁷.

A randomized clinical study published in Medical Science Monitor, 75 percent of statin users with muscle symptoms reported reduced pain after taking CoQ10 twice a day for 30 days whereas in the placebo group, there were no patients who had improvement in symptoms^7.8. Based on this study, it is recommended that combining statin therapy with CoQ10 supplements could lead to higher compliance with treatment.

Conenzyme Q effect on Heart failure

CoQ10 has also been shown to be beneficial for treatment of heart failure. A multi-center randomized study of 420 patients found that taking COQ10 reduced cardiovascular events in patients with severe heart failure to a significant extent, compared to the control group⁹.

How can CoQ 10 levels be enhanced?

One can consume foods with CoQ10 such as meat, fish, and nuts in order to increase CoQ levels10. However, the amount of CoQ10 found in such dietary sources, however, is not adequate to significantly increase CoQ10 levels in your body.

Therefore one can consume CoQ10 dietary supplements that are available as capsules, chewable tablets, and liquid syrups to increase the body’s levels of CoQ10 and attain the benefits described above.

References:

1. Semeco, A. (2017) 9 benefits of coenzyme Q10 (coq10), Healthline. Healthline Media. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coenzyme-q10#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2 (Accessed: October 9, 2022).
2. Juan Garrido-Maraver, Mario D. Cordero, Manuel Oropesa-Avila, Alejandro Fernandez Vega, Mario de la Mata, Ana Delgado Pavon, Elisabet Alcocer-Gomez, Carmen Perez Calero, Marina Villanueva Paz, Macarena Alanis, Isabel de Lavera, David Cotan, Jose A. Sánchez Alcázar. Clinical applications of coenzyme Q10. Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2014, 19(4), 619–633. https://doi.org/10.2741/4231
3. Jorat MV, Tabrizi R, Mirhosseini N, Lankarani KB, Akbari M, Heydari ST, Mottaghi R, Asemi Z. The effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on lipid profiles among patients with coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Lipids Health Dis. 2018 Oct 9;17(1):230. doi: 10.1186/s12944-018-0876-4. PMID: 30296936; PMCID: PMC6176512.
4. Arora, M. (2022) Cholesterol 101 - the basics and effects of cholesterol, Naturachol. Naturachol. Available at:
5. https://naturachol.com/blogs/news/cholesterol-101-the-basics-of-cholesterol-an d-how-it-affects-you (Accessed: October 9, 2022).
6. Aslani Z, Shab-Bidar S, Fatahi S, Djafarian K. Effect of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Serum of High Sensitivity c-reactive Protein Level in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Int J Prev Med. 2018 Sep 17;9:82. doi: 10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_263_17. PMID: 30283614; PMCID: PMC6151976.
7. Zozina VI, Covantev S, Goroshko OA, Krasnykh LM, Kukes VG. Coenzyme Q10 in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases: Current State of the Problem. Curr Cardiol Rev. 2018;14(3):164-174. doi: 10.2174/1573403X14666180416115428. PMID: 29663894; PMCID: PMC6131403.
8. CoQ10: What are the heart health benefits? (2015) Cleveland HeartLab, Inc.
9. Available at: https://www.clevelandheartlab.com/blog/horizons-coq10-what-are-the-heart-health-benefits/ (Accessed: October 9, 2022).
10. Skarlovnik A, Janić M, Lunder M, Turk M, Šabovič M. Coenzyme Q10 supplementation decreases statin-related mild-to-moderate muscle symptoms: a
11. randomized clinical study. Med Sci Monit. 2014 Nov 6;20:2183-8. doi: 10.12659/MSM.890777. PMID: 25375075; PMCID: PMC4226312.
12. DiNicolantonio JJ, Bhutani J, McCarty MF, et alCoenzyme Q10 for the treatment of heart failure: a review of the literatureOpen Heart 2015;2:e000326. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2015-000326.
13. Coenzyme Q10 (2020) Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and
14. Research. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-coenzyme-q10/art-20362602 (Accessed: October 10, 2022).