Role of Coenzyme Q10 in Chronic Heart Failure, Angina, and HTN
It’s nice to see CoQ10 getting some recognition in the pharmacology journals, however, in the conclusion to this article, the author suggests that, while CoQ10 does show some promising results, it is not recommended for use at this time as monotherapy. Huh?? No self respecting physician who understands natural medicine would ever recommend just one thing for cardiovascular disease. It’s a program, not an isolated therapeutic agent. I feel it may be a long while yet before we see natural therapeutics used in trials as they are used in clinical practice.
Pharmacotherapy 21(7):797-806, 2001 Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has a pathophysiologic role in many disease states. The purpose of this review is to provide recommendations regarding the safety, efficacy, and dosing of CoQ10 in the management of chronic heart failure (CHF), angina, and hypertension. Coenzyme Q10 administered orally has favorable actions in the described cardiovascular conditions and appears to be safe and well tolerated in the adult population. Issues concerning optimum target dosages, potential interactions, monitoring parameters, and the role of CoQ10 as a monotherapeutic agent need to be investigated further. Favorable effects of CoQ10 on ejection fraction, exercise tolerance, cardiac output, and stroke volume are demonstrated in the literature; thus, the use of CoQ10 as adjuvant therapy in patients with CHF may be supported. Conclusions: Coenzyme Q10 therapy in angina and hypertension cannot be substantiated until additional clinical trials demonstrate consistent beneficial effects. However, CoQ10 may be recommended as adjuvant therapy in selected patients with CHF. At this time, CoQ10 should not be recommended as monotherapy or first-line therapy in any disease state.