Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy
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This doctor gave a guy six months to live.
The guy couldn't pay his bill.
The doctor gave him another six months.
(Henny Youngman)

CARDIOMYOPATHY AND COENZYME Q10

by Andrew W. Saul

By now, coenzyme Q10 (coQ10 or umbiquinone) should probably be accepted as a vitamin. Many other vitamins are coenzymes. CoQ10 is found in small quantities in foods. A person with cardiomyopathy may have a bigger requirement because of the illness. It has been established that heart muscle greatly benefits from coQ10 supplementation, resulting in improvement in cases of congestive heart failure as well as cardiomyopathy. Because coQ10 is so absolutely vital to muscle cells, involved with growth control, cellular energy production, and other essential life functions, it warrants special consideration for persons with cardiomyopathy. The research cited below is far more than just "promising." In my opinion, it would have been even more conclusive if higher doses were employed. I submit that 400 mg of CoQ10 per day would be a minimum effective dose, and 500 to 600 mg/day would be better. The limiting factors will be either cost and/or medical disapproval. As there are no harmful side effects with coQ10, much higher doses are worth a serious therapeutic trial.

FOR FURTHER READING:

Mol Aspects Med. 1997;18 Suppl:S145-51. Treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with coenzyme Q10. Langsjoen PH, Langsjoen A, Willis R, Folkers K. Langsjoen Clinic, Tyler, TX 75701, USA. “Seven patients with HCM, six non-obstructive and one obstructive, were treated with an average of 200 mg/day of CoQ10 with mean treatment whole blood CoQ10 level of 2.9 micrograms/ml. Echocardiograms were obtained in all seven patients at baseline and again 3 or more months post-treatment. All patients noted improvement in symptoms of fatigue and dyspnea with no side effects noted. The mean interventricular septal thickness improved significantly from 1.51 +/- 0.17 cm to 1.14 +/- 0.13 cm, a 24% reduction (P < 0.002). The mean posterior wall thickness improved significantly from 1.37 +/- 0.13 cm to 1.01 +/- 0.15 cm, a 26% reduction (P < 0.005). . . The one patient with subaortic obstruction showed an improvement in resting pressure gradient after CoQ10 treatment (70 mmHg to 30 mmHg).”

Pediatr Cardiol. 2005 Jul-Aug;26(4):361-6. The effect of coenzyme Q10 on idiopathic chronic dilated cardiomyopathy in children. Soongswang J, Sangtawesin C, Durongpisitkul K, Laohaprasitiporn D, Nana A, Punlee K, Kangkagate C. “A total of 15 patients with idiopathic chronic DCM were included, with the median age of 4.4 years (range, 0.6-16.3). Presenting symptoms were congestive heart failure in 12 cases (80%), cardiogenic shock in 2 cases (13.3%), and cardiac arrhythmia in 1 case (6.7%). . . CoQ10 was given at a dosage of 3.1 - 0.6 mg/kg/day for 9 months as a supplementation to a fixed amount of conventional antifailure drugs throughout the study. At follow-up periods of 1, 3, 6, and 9 months, NYHA functional class was significantly improved, as was CT ratio and QRS duration at 3 and 9 months follow-up with CoQ10 when compared to the baseline and post-discontinuation of CoQ10 at 9 months (range, 4.8-10.8).”

Clin Nutr. 2005 Jun;24(3):331-8. Potential role of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10) in pediatric cardiomyopathy. Bhagavan HN, Chopra RK. “About 40% of children who present with symptomatic cardiomyopathy are reported to receive a heart transplant or die within the first two years of life. In spite of some of the advances in the management of pediatric cardiomyopathy, the data shows that the time to transplantation or death has not improved during the past 35 years. Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin-like nutrient that has a fundamental role in mitochondrial function, especially as it relates to the production of energy (ATP) and also as an antioxidant. Based upon the biochemical rationale and a large body of data on patients with adult cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and mitochondrial diseases with heart involvement, a role for coenzyme Q10 therapy in pediatric cardiomyopathy patients is indicated, and preliminary results are promising. Additional studies on the potential usefulness of coenzyme Q10 supplementation as an adjunct to conventional therapy in PCM, particularly in children with dilated cardiomyopathy, are therefore warranted.”