Health Benefits of CoQ10

CoQ10 for Congestive Heart Failure and More

Congestive heart failure (CHF), a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body, is associated with increased oxidative stress and decreased CoQ10 levels, leading researchers to believe that CoQ10 supplementation could help patients with the condition. This is not just speculation – CoQ10 has been used in Japan to treat congestive heart failure since 1974, and substantial research supports this application.

In 1994, Italian researchers examined ht effects of CoQ10 as a complementary treatment for CHF in more than 2,500 patients. The researchers reported that more than half of the patients experienced improvement of at least three symptoms after 90 days of oral CoQ10 supplementation (50 to 150 milligrams per day).

In 1997, Danish researchers conducted a meta-analysis of eight studies on the effects of CoQ10 in patients with CHF. After reporting that CoQ10 was associated with improvement in five markers of heart health, the researchers concluded that CoQ10 had strong potential as a complementary treatment for CHF.

In 2002, researchers from the University of Toronto conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of a supplement containing carnitine, CoQ10 and taurine in patients with CHF. In the American Heart Journal, the researchers reported that the supplement raised levels of all three nutrients in the heart and improved the function of the left ventricle.

The heart-health benefits of CoQ10 go beyond congestive heart failure. In 2003, Australian researchers reviewed eight studies on CoQ10 and hypertension and reported that CoQ10 appeared to decrease blood pressure significantly. Also in 2003, Indian researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind study on the effects of CoQ10 on atherosclerosis. They found that one year of CoQ10 supplementation led to a significant reduction in cardiac events in patients who had previously suffered heart attacks.