Regular Coenzyme Q10’s (a dietary supplement) doses cut the death rate in half of the patients who suffer from an advanced failure of heart, in randomized trial that’s double blind.Also, the researchers reported a major decrease in hospitalizations for the patients of heart failure who are treated with CoQ10. Around 14% patients who take this supplement suffer from some major cardiovascular issue which requires treatment at hospital, as compared to the 25% patients who receive placebos.
The ones who suffer from heart failure, their heart goes weak and cannot pump adequate oxygen and blood that’s nutrient-rich to all the body parts. Such patients experience fatigue often as well as breathing problems because heart enlarges along with pumping faster in order to meet the needs of the body.A study is to be shown on Saturday at annual meeting of Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology in Portugal, in Lisbon.
Svend Aage Mortensen, a lead researcher and professor at Heart Center at Copenhagen University Hospital, said that COQ10 happens to be the 1st medication that improves survival during the chronic failure of heart since beta blockers and ACE inhibitors more than one decade ago. He also said that it ought to be added in the standard therapy of heart failure.
Though clinical trials that are randomized are considered studies’ gold standard as the new study got presented at some medical meeting, conclusions and data should be considered to be preliminary until they are published in peer-reviewed journal.
Cardiologists in America greeted the findings that were reported with measured optimism. Dr Gregg Fonarow, cardiology professor at University of California in Los Angeles, said that this happens to be quite a promising study, though it requires replication with a 2nd confirmatory trial.
It was noted by Fonarow that smaller and earlier trials with CoQ10 produced some mixed results but this trial showed impressive effects.
CoQ10 naturally occurs in body and functions as carrier of electron in the mitochondria in cell to help in converting food into energy. It is also powerful antioxidant as well as famous dietary supplement over-the-counter.The levels of CoQ10 get decreased in patients’ heart muscles, those patients who suffer from heart failure, with deficiency being more pronounced with worsening condition, as told by Mortensen.
There are 420 patients in the study with heart failure from moderate to the severe level who are tracked in 2 years. Around half of them received 100mg of CoQ10 thrice a day and other half of patients received placebo.
When the study ended, it showed that eighteen patients from CoQ10 group passed away whereas 36 died in placebo group. Majority of adverse cardiovascular incidents that require hospitalization had been in twenty-nine CoQ10 patients, as compared to 55 in placebo group.
Head of research group for circulatory failure at Mayo Clinic, Dr Margaret Redfield said that it all seemed like a very large trial to be looked at in rigorous way in order to see whether CoQ10 therapy does affect outcomes in failure of heart and that it did show decrease in the events related to failure of heart.
CoQ10’s potential of treating patients with heart failure is a story that is being told for over 2 decades now, according to Dr Michael Givertz, director for circulatory support and heart transplant in Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Studies have revealed that CoQ10 doesn’t harm nor does it produce any side effects but hasn’t been capable of proving some solid benefit, as told by Givertz.
According to him the recommendation in general to the patients hasn’t resulted in some big benefit nor is it harmful. He also said that it doesn’t have side effects and can’t hurt, though it is quite costly and that most cardiologists haven’t recommended it. Further, he said that he thinks any size of trial won’t change the practice as well as change guidelines.