Dilated Cardiomyopathy/CoQ10

Dear Mr. Palinkas,

The Coenzyme

Coenzyme co q10
Coenzyme q10

Q10 debate is arousing quite a bit of interest.  As you know, this is an essential

Essential hypertension
Essential tremor
Essential balance

enzyme involved in the production of energy by the powerhouses of mammalian cells… the mitochondria.  It has been suggested that some people with cardiac

Cardiac catheterization
Cardiac tamponade
Left heart ventricular angiography

disease, including dilated cardiomyopathy,  might benefit from supplementation with Coenzyme Q10, perhaps by increasing previously low levels of this enzyme.  Doses from 50 to 600 mg/day have been suggested,  with no agreement on an ideal dose.  There are many anecdotal reports of improvement in patients taking this medicine, but these are uncontrolled trials, meaning that the treatment group (taking CoQ10) wasn’t being compared with a placebo group in a blinded fashion.  It’s amazing how once promising results seem to wither and disappear once a rigorous, controlled trial is performed.  

What I’m getting at here is that there may be something to this debate, but until more thorough testing is done, you’re much better off following a standard medical regimen with ACE inhibitors, diuretics, and digoxin.  You might discuss the issue of CoQ10 supplementation with your physician, but be wary of health food stores that charge exorbitant prices for a completely speculative and unproven therapy for cardiomyopathy.    "Fact or fiction"… the jury is still out.  

Information provided in the Heart Forum is for general purposes only.  Specific diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your physician.