Coenzyme Q10 and Hawthorn 03/05/09

Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation

In recent years, a number of randomized, double-blind trials have demonstrated that Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation can effectively and consistently lower blood pressure in hypertensive subjects. CoQ10 is directly involved in the bioenergetic pathways of ATP production in heart muscle (myocardium). Research reveals that 39 percent of patients with high blood pressure have a deficiency of CoQ10. Supplementation with CoQ10 appears to correct this deficiency, correcting the underlying metabolic abnormality that leads to high blood pressure development. Most experts in this field believe that CoQ10 is able to lower blood pressure through its favourable influence on heart bioenergetic mechanisms and possibly relaxing vascular smooth muscle. Because CoQ10 corrects an underlying metabolic defect that leads to high blood pressure, lowering of blood pressure usually requires 4 to 12 weeks of CoQ10 supplementation.

In a recent randomized, double blind trial among patients receiving antihypertensive medications, the addition of 60 mg of CoQ10, twice daily was shown to markedly reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. CoQ10 supplementation also reduced other risk factors for cardiovascular disease including a lowering of fasting and 2-hr. plasma insulin, glucose, triglycerides, lipid peroxides and blood levels of malondialdehyde – a marker of free radical damage. The authors of the study conclude that CoQ10 decreases blood pressure possibly by decreasing oxidative stress (free radical generation) and insulin response in patients with known hypertension receiving conventional antihypertensive drugs. This study and others provide evidence that CoQ10 can be taken safely in conjunction with antihypertensive drugs to produce better blood pressure lowering outcomes, if necessary.

The daily dosage of CoQ10 to aid in blood pressure lowering is usually 60 mg, twice per day,18 although 100 mg once per day has been tested12 and in mild cases of hypertension 30-75 mg, once per day may be sufficient to normalize blood pressure.

Hawthorn Extract Supplementation

The hawthorn plant and its berries are a rich source of a unique strand of bioflavonoids, known as procyanidins. Like CoQ10, these procyanidins have been shown to reverse congestive heart failure by enhancing bioenergetic pathways within the heart muscle (myocardium). More recently, we have seen a number of intervention trials that demonstrate that hawthorn extract supplementation can also effectively reduce high blood pressure. The procyanidins in hawthorn act as cardiac glycoside agents that increase cyclic AMP and produce a vasodilation effect on arteries. The daily dosage required to lower blood pressure ranges from 100-250 mg, up to three times daily if taken as a sole antihypertensive agent. To ensure sufficient levels of its active constituents (procyanidins), the product must be standardized to 3-5 percent vitexin content. (Vitexin is a key bioflavonoid.) Usually two to four weeks is required in order to see a significant decline in blood pressure in hypertensive patients.  Hawthorn is contra-indicated in patients taking digitalis or digoxin.