Co-Enzyme Q10 for the Heart

More CoQ-10 is found in the heart tissue than in any other muscle of the body.  The heart is the most important muscle in the body.  It works constantly night and day and unlike so many other muscles, that we can choose to use or exercise, our heart always has to work; it is a central and vital organ to our life.

Two researchers, Dr. Karl Folkers, from the University of Texas (recognised as the father of CoQ research in the USA), together with Japanese co-worker Tatsuo Watanabe compared blood samples from 100 patients suffering from coronary heart disease with a control group of the general population with no diagnosed heart problems.  The CoQ levels for the cardiac sufferers were significantly lower: around 25% less than those of healthy subjects.

Through time, Dr. Folkers conducted his own thorough studies and reviewed Japanese studies.  He found that heart tissue was deficient in CoQ-10 in about 75% of all heart victims and that therapeutic effects were reported in at least 70% of all people using the supplement.

Your heart beats 70 times a minute, 100,000 times a day, and pumps the equivalent of 2,500 - 5,000 gallons of blood per day through some 60,000 miles of blood vessels.  With each beat, blood travels as far as your big toes and back again, nourishing trillions of cells within your body.  Since the demands upon your hearts' energy are so great, current research supports the supposition that heart disease may be connected to insufficient CoQ-10.

 According to Dr. Roger Williams of the University of Texas: 'It has been found that Co-Enzyme Q-10, a vital link in the metabolic machinery of living cells, is often deficient in the heart tissues of cardiac patients, while in the tissues of patients who's hearts are healthy (biopsy specimens), this deficiency does not exist.'

 High blood pressure, known as the 'silent killer'; because its victims often have no symptoms, kills over 60,000 people a year (USA) and is directly related to more than 250,000 deaths (USA) from stroke and cardiovascular disease.  High blood pressure contributes to conditions such as arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and arteriosclerosis (cholesterol plaques on the artery walls), both of which are major causes of heart attack.  By helping bring blood pressure down, CoQ-10 may significantly reduce the risk of heart at tack and cardiovascular disease.

 It appears that this wonderful nutrient is not only useful for treating heart disease and high blood pressure but it can also be utilised to protect the heart from further damage, improve the effects of heart surgery, protect the heart from potentially toxic drugs, and even work as a preventative.  In addition, as far back as 1975 experiments showed CoQ-10 to be effective in reversing gum disease.  An amazing 30-40% of all Americans have chronic gum disease.  As many as 32 million will lose teeth, face possible facial disfigurement and worse.

 At the forefront in CoQ-10 periodontal research is Dr. Edward G. Wilkinson, an Air Force dentist.  In his research, Dr. Wilkinson and his team took tissue samples from over 120 dental patients with periodontal disease.  These showed a marked deficiency of CoQ-10.  Supplements not only stopped the progress of the disease but also initiated what the scientists described as 'extraordinary healing tissue healing in five days which would ordinarily be expected in 10-15 days.'

 Dr. Wilkinson states, 'Periodontal tissues are deficient in CoQ-10 when they are diseased and appear to require more CoQ-10 to heal.  I believe persons suffering from periodontal disease could benefit from coenzyme Q-10 as an adjunct to routine periodontal therapy'.

 Recent research has shown that periodontal disease is not localised in the gums but is a generalised disease with a heavy involvement of the immune system.  Another reason for the success of CoQ-10 treatment of gum disorders is its proven ability to stimulate immune response.  Our bodies retain extra supplies of CoQ-10 where they are needed most.  Major repositories are the heart, the liver and immune system.

 CoQ-10 is an immuno-stimulating agent that brings extra energy to the cells of the immune system.  The extra energy revitalises the cells so that they can do a better job defending our bodies.  Specifically CoQ-10 does not stimulate the production of new cells in the immune system nor does it attack microorganisms.  It increases the immuno-competence of the existing cells.

There is an irrefutable link between immune system health and the individual ageing process.  It is the staying power of the immune system which makes it possible for some people to 'age better' than others.  Scientific studies have linked decreasing levels of CoQ-10 with human ageing.  These studies have also lead researchers to believe natural ageing decreasing levels of CoQ-10 may actually play a causative role in the process of ageing itself, and correcting these deficiencies by taking supplements can be considered valid anti-ageing therapy.

 'You're only as young as your immune system,' as Bliznakov and Hunt put it.  A decrease in immono-competence is a major symptom of ageing and, as scientists are discovering, so is a CoQ-10 deficiency.

 In The Journal of Optimal Nutrition (Vol. 2, Number 4), a study was published on 154 patients with heart failure so severe that no further conventional therapy was available (except possibly heart transplants).  The researchers carefully monitored blood levels of coenzyme Q10, B vitamins and carnitine in these patients and found that deficiencies of vitamin B1 and B6 specifically caused cardiovascular dysfunctions.  The levels of carnitine were significantly reduced in-patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (50% below normal) and inflammatory myocarditis (80% below normal).

 In the study, coenzyme Q10 was supplemented and almost all of the 154 patients clinically improved.  About half of the 154 patients were dying, but after 12 months 97% of them were alive, after 24 months 96% were alive and after 36 months 95% were alive.  This survival data on coenzyme Q10 may be compared to data obtained from nine publications on conventional drugs that reported survival of 50-78% at 6 months and 35-65% at 12 months.  This extraordinary survival on coenzyme Q10 was superior to conventional drugs and is explained by coenzyme Q10's indispensable role as a mandatory energy cofactor of myocardial function and contractility.  Patients with less severe heart disease were treated with 100-150 mg a day of coenzyme Q10, while dying patients were given 150-225 mg a day.  Dosages for patients increased whenever blood levels failed to reach 2 micrograms per millilitre and whenever new medications were added.

 These patients were followed for up to 58 months.  These 154 cases included ischemic cardiomyopathy (coronary artery disease), dilated cardiomyopathy, rheumatic cardiomyopathy, chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy, and congenital cardiomyopathy.  Ninety four percent of these patients improved by one class when treated with dosages of coenzyme Q10 ranging from 100 to 255 mg a day.

 In studies published in the major medical journals, FDA approved cardiac drugs produce 50% improvements after 12 months and these studies are the basis for which cardiologists prescribe these medications.  Yet, none of these FDA approved drugs addresses the underlying cause of these various forms of heart disease, and none of these FDA approved drugs compares to the 97% success rate using high doses of coenzyme Q10.

International research data documents the safety and efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in treating heart disease over a 35-year period, far in excess of the very short-term trials in which FDA approved drugs are used to treat cardiomyopathy.  An example of conventional medicine overemphasising the benefits of FDA approved drugs was the 1987 Consensus Trial Study Group in which 50% of cardiomyopathy patients on the drug enalapril survived after 12 months, yet studies show that 95% of cardiomyopathy patients survive after three years when taking pharmacological doses of coenzyme Q10.

Heart Disease Is Caused By Nutrient Deficiencies

 Since 1980, heart disease, the epidemic of the 20th century, has been widely documented to be a preventable disease.  This new research adds credence to the fact that high doses of the nutrients used to prevent heart disease are significantly more effective than conventional medications in treating heart disease as they are able to build up the strength in the heart, and that these nutrients work synergistically with existing cardiovascular drugs to improve their safety and effectiveness. 

Further Reading:-

Articles:

Co-Enzyme Q10 

What is the Immune System?