Ubiquinol at the Heart Of Cardiovascular Support

Ubiquinol, the active form of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), is gaining wide support among health practitioners as a supportive therapeutic option for patients with heart failure.

A recent clinical review, published in Circulation: Heart Failurei is particularly useful for health professionals who need to understand the benefits for their patients.

This comprehensive review outlines the mechanisms, clinical data, and risk profile of Ubiquinol/CoQ10 supplementation in patients with heart failure. More than 30,000 Australians are diagnosed with chronic heart failure every year and hospitalisations cost a staggering $1 billion each year.ii

Performed by Duke Clinical Research Institute, it references numerous trials during the past 30 years including the extensive Q-SYMBIO randomised controlled trial. The review shows CoQ10 has few drug interactions and side effects.

Heart Support

In terms of cardiovascular health, the renowned QSYMBIO study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2014), found long-term CoQ10 treatment of patients with chronic heart failure has a low risk profile, and it “improves symptoms, and reduces major adverse cardiovascular events.”iii

The study looked at the progress of 420 patients with chronic heart failure who supplemented with CoQ10 over the course of two years. It found that after two years, there were 43 per cent fewer heart-related complications among the CoQ10-treated participants. The study did use Ubiquinone – the “traditional” form of CoQ10 – not Ubiquinol – the active and more bioavailable form.

Improved Pump with Ubiquinol

Healthy hearts pump just over half of the heart’s volume of blood with each beat, meaning a normal ejection fraction is 50 to 75 percent. In patients with heart failure, this ejection fraction can drop to lower than 35 per cent.iv A US study, by Dr Peter Langjoenv , found Ubiquinol supplementation resulted in increased ejection fraction, by up to three times for some patients.

Ubiquinol in Adjunctive Therapy for Cardiovascular Health

Numerous new studies indicate that Ubiquinol, the active form of CoQ10 shows promise as an adjunctive therapy for people with cardiac complaints. While statins have obvious benefits, one common side effect for statin-takers is statin-induce myopathy. A 2012 study , found patients taking statins and Ubiquinol experienced a reduction in muscle pain by up to 54 per cent and a reduction in muscle weakness by 44 per cent.

Cholesterol Support

Other studies show Ubiquinol supplementation can also assist in lowering levels of LDL cholesterol with consistent use. A 2011 study studied the effect of Ubiquinol supplementation on lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol plasma levels and found both a reduction in LDL cholesterol and an increase in CoQ10 levels within the body of each subject.

References

i Circulation: Heart Failure. 2016; 9: e002639 doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.115.002639 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27012265
ii National Heart Foundation Chronic Heart Failure in Australia – http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/information-for-professionals/Clinical-Information/Pages/heart-failure.aspx
iii JACC Heart Fail. 2014 Dec;2(6):641-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2014.06.008. Epub 2014 Oct 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25282031
iv http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartFailure/SymptomsDiagnosisofHeartFailure/Ejection-Fraction-Heart-Failure-Measurement_UCM_306339_Article.jsp#.WJv8ubj-vIU
v BioFactors 32 (2008) 119–128 119. Supplemental ubiquinol in patients with advanced congestive heart failure.Langsjoen PH1, Langsjoen AM. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19096107
vi Zlatohlavek L et al, The effect of Coenzyme Q10 in statin myopathy. Neuroendocrinology Lett 2012; 33 (Suppl. 2) 98 – 101. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23183519
vii Schmelzer, C et al. Ubiquinol Induced Gene Expression, IUBMB Life 2011; 63, 42-48. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21280176