Drugs That Deplete CoQ10 Levels in the Body

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Studies show that various drugs deplete  body stores of CoQ10 via a number of different mechanisms.  Decreased CoQ10 levels in the body are associated with a greater risk of congestive heart failure and possibly high blood pressure.  As one report concludes, “Since the early nineties–several years after statin drugs were introduced in 1987– the incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) has risen sharply. CHF, in fact, is the fastest growing cardiovascular disorder in the United States”.  (National Heart, Lung, and Blood  Institute, National Institutes of Health. Data Fact Sheet. Congestive Heart Failure in the United States: A New Epidemic. Available online: http://www.medhelp.org/NIHlib/GF-241.html). But it’s not only cholesterol-lowering statin drugs that deplete the body’s CoQ10 levels, many other drugs are guilty of the same. If you are taking any of the following classes of drugs you should strongly consider taking a supplement each day that can provide 90 mg of CoQ10, along with at least 100 mg of Hawthorn, and 75 mg of Quercetin, over the course of the day. Here is a list of the drugs to be most concerned about: 

• Orlistat:  reduces CoQ10 absorption. (Don’t take CoQ10 supplementswithin 90 minutes of ingesting Orlistat – as the drug is a fat absorption blocker)
• Beta blockers:  decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Biguanides:  decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Cloindine:  decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Gemfibrozil:  (cholesterol-lowering drug).
• Haloperidol:  decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Statin Drugs (HMG-CoA Reductase inhibitors):  decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Hydralazine:  decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Methyldopa: decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Phenothiazines:  decreases CoQ10 synthesis.
• Sulfonylureas:  some of these drugs decrease CoQ10 synthesis (acetohexamide, glyburide, tolazamide).
• Thiazide Diuretics:  decrease CoQ10 synthesis.
• Tricyclic Antidepressants:  decrease CoQ10 synthesis.