New Hope for Heart Failure?

More than five million adults in the US are afflicted by heart failure, a progressively debilitating disease. In the past, treatment focused primarily on symptom management. Now researchers say change may be on the horizon. Since the heart maintains specialized cellular processes that demand high but varying levels of energy, and because it stores only a small amount of energy substrate, the focus of current research is on developing treatment strategies for meeting those fluctuating workload demands.

Research supports the use of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an essential compound of the human body that is synthesized in the mitochondrial inner membrane. A review of 14 randomized controlled trials on the efficacy of CoQ10 found that patients had a lower mortality rate and improved exercise capacity compared to study participants receiving a placebo.

The reported dosage of CoQ10 differs in a wide range from 100-300 mg for cardiovascular diseases. Future studies should be aimed at assessment of higher dosage of CoQ10 administration as well as evaluation of its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

A review found that heart failure patients may benefit from receiving nutraceuticals such as hawthorn, beet nitrates, L-carnitine, and vitamin D. However, despite several studies exploring the association of the various supplements to the cardiovascular risk, there is still a lack of consensus in the medical literature.

Research into supporting mitochondrial health for cardiometabolic patients and patients with migraines, fatigue, and other conditions continues to evolve.