During the second phase, one group of rats received CoQ10 for six weeks, while the other group had a placebo. Researchers then sacrificed the rats and duplicated the heartbeat marathon. The young rat hearts performed the same, whether they had received CoQ10 earlier or not. The old hearts that had received the CoQ10, on the other hand, recovered at the same rate as the young hearts. In other words, the hearts of old rats that received CoQ10 performed just as well as the hearts of young rats.
How does this discovery apply to human hearts? We know that elders do not generally tolerate heart surgery well. That option is often closed to people over 70. We believe the problem stems from “reperfusion injury,” an injury that occurs during open heart surgery when the surgical team stops the heart to operate on it, then re-starts the heart when they’ve finished. The heart-lung machine continues to circulate blood to the body during the operation. During the surgery, the heart lacks oxygen and blood, just as it does during a heart attack. When the circulation is re-started, the body experiences a rush of oxygen that causes extreme free radical damage to heart tissue. Free radicals are unstable cells that tend to “steal” electrons from neighboring cells. We know that CoQ10 helps neutralize these free radicals. Could it prevent damage to the heart caused by stopping and starting the heart during open heart surgery?
To test the theory, cardiologists bathed heart tissue in a solution that provided it with oxygen and glucose. Next, they ran an electric current through the solution to cause the heart tissue to “beat.” Researchers then measured the strength of the heart muscle contractions. They then deprived the heart tissue of oxygen and glucose for an hour to simulate the experience of open heart surgery, then they restored the oxygen and glucose, causing the release of free radicals. In this situation, the younger heart muscles recovered 70 percent of their strength while the older heart muscles regained just 49 percent of their strength.
To test the impact of CoQ10 on the heart, the researchers administered CoQ10 to the heart tissue for 30 minutes before repeating the oxygen- and glucose-deprivation experiment. As in the rat heart experiment, the old hearts showed marked improvement. In fact, old heart tissue pre-treated with CoQ10 actually recovered an astounding 72 percent of its contraction strength, slightly better than the recovery rate of the young hearts.
In these experiments, CoQ10 helps old heart recover as well as young hearts do, but don’t think that CoQ10 is effective only in older hearts. Research suggests it has other benefits to young and old hearts alike. CoQ10 can help prevent free radicals from damaging the heart in the first place. Other studies have shown that CoQ10 can lower oxidation of cholesterol and incidence of heart attacks.
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]]>CoQ10 helps people with angina pectoris. As part of a double-blind study (one in which neither the doctor nor the patients know who gets the medication and who gets the placebo), 12 people with angina pectoris took 150 milligrams of CoQ10 daily for four weeks. Patients taking CoQ10 experienced a 53 percent reduction in the frequency of their angina attacks, compared to patients who took the placebo. In addition, those people taking CoQ10 could exercise on a treadmill a lot longer than they could before they started taking CoQ10.
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Deprive your heart of CoQ10 and its available energy declines, leading to a decrease in the volume of blood your heart can pump. If your heart pumps less blood than it receives, fluid backs up and your heart swells like a water balloon. We call this congestive heart failure.
Congestive heart failure can affect either the right or left side of the heart. The left side pumps oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the rest of the body. The right side of the heart pumps the oxygen-depleted blood from the body back to the lungs that replenish the oxygen. When the left side of the heart is damaged, the blood backs up into the lungs, causing wheezing and shortness of breath (even during rest), fatigue, sleep disturbances, and a dry, hacking, non-productive cough when lying down.
When the right side of the heart is damaged, the blood collects in the legs and liver, causing swollen feet and ankles, swollen neck veins, pain below the ribs, fatigue, and lethargy. People with congestive heart failure tend to have abnormally low levels of CoQ10. They also have many problems or abnormalities with the mitochondria of their cells, probably caused by the low levels of healing CoQ10.
CoQ10 is important in the treatment of congestive heart failure, a disease that is often fatal. While some traditional medications can improve heart function temporarily, they often delay death by no more than a few month or years at best. The five-year survival rate for people with congestive heart failure is 50 percent, and many people with the condition suffer from severe functional disabilities.
CoQ10 offers hope for people with congestive heart failure. CoQ10 changes how the heart functions and strengthens cells. Patients with congestive heart failure can dramatically prolong their lives by taking CoQQ10. In one study, taking CoQ10 cut the average yearly death rate of patients with heart failure by 26 to 59 percent. Many patients reverse their heart failure by taking regular doses of CoQ10.
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]]>The next round of studies looked at whether taking supplemental CoQ10 could help prevent or reverse heart disease. Since the 1970s, more than 50 studies demonstrated the effectiveness of CoQ10 in the treatment of people with heart disease. Dr. Folkers and Dr. Peter Langsjoen, a cardiologist in Tyler, Texas, conducted a remarkable study between 1985 and 1993. They observed 424 people who received CoQ10 and conventional medicine treatments for heart disease. Doctors then assessed patient progress according to the New York Heart Association functional scale. The heart disease ratings range from I (the least serious) to IV (the most serious). After taking CoQ10, 58 percent of the patients improved one category, 28 percent moved up two categories, and 1.2 percent moved up three categories! In addition, 43 percent of the patients cut back or eliminated their cardiac medication.
CoQ10 also helps lower blood pressure. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the Journal of Human Hypertension followed two groups of people with hypertension. One group took CoQ10 for eight weeks while the other group took a placebo. The COQ10 group showed a significant reduction in blood pressure. Molecular Aspects of Medicine reported another fascinating study about patients taking CoQ10 and prescription drugs for high blood pressure. Researchers found that more than half of all patients on blood pressure drugs were able to stop using their medications when they began taking supplemental CoQ10. In a University of Texas study, people with high blood pressure took oral CoQ10. Within one month, they experienced marked improvements in blood pressure. Overall, 51 percent of subjects were able to discontinue their blood pressure medication.
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In 1958, biochemist Karl Folkers, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Biomedical Research at the University of Texas at Austin, and researchers at a pharmaceutical company identified the chemical structure of CoQ10, and soon developed a way to synthesize it. At the time, scientists did not appreciate the significance of their discovery. Since CoQ10 was a natural substance, it could not be patented, and it was expensive to produce. The pharmaceutical company sold the technology for the production of CoQ10 to Japanese researchers.
During the late 1950s and 1960s, Japanese researchers experimented with CoQ10 and its role in the body. They soon discovered that CoQ10 was effective in the treatment of congestive heart failure, a condition that does not respond well to traditional treatments. Western researchers paid little attention to this CoQ10 breakthrough. They believed the answer to heart disease was open heart surgery and other surgical solutions, rather than a simple nutritional supplement.
Researchers also found that CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants help the body neutralize free radicals in the cells. Free radical damage contributes to a range of diseases and medical problems, including heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and more problems associated with aging. Free radicals are one of the metabolic byproducts of energy production in the cells. CoQ10 appears to protect the cells and the mitochondria by cleaning up these free radicals before they can damage the cells. Now, even Western researchers appreciate the importance of CoQ10 in both energy production and the health of the cells.
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Energy production at the cellular level begins when the body turns the food we eat into nutrients (glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids) that the mitochondria can use to produce energy. Within the cells, the mitochondria -- through a multi-step process scientists refer to as the Krebs cycle -- manufacture adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is literally the body’s source of energy. ATP is the fuel cells burn to perform their tasks.
To make energy, the mitochondria use plenty of CoQ10, which helps in the chemical reactions required for energy production. This is essential to keep the powerhouses of the cells – the mitochondria —- working efficiently. In effect, the CoQ10 provides a virtual Fountain of Youth for the cells.
When cells run out of CoQ10, the mitochondria simply cannot produce enough energy to meet the body’s demands. When the body is well stocked with CoQ10, it can operate efficiently. When stockpiles of CoQ10 run low, the mitochondria are less efficient and they may produce adenosine diphosphate (ADP), which is a less potent fuel. Over time, running your body on cheap fuel will take its toll, damaging the mitochondria and contributing to a growing sense of fatigue.
When our bodies are young, our mitochondria work tirelessly to produce the abundant energy associated with youth. Over the years, however, our mitochondria age and show signs of wear and tear, just as the rest of the body does. The mitochondria can grow hard and less efficient at producing ATP.
When the mitochondria break down, they produce less energy. If this happens long enough, you experience chronic fatigue. This makes the heart weak and inefficient. This systemic energy crisis can compromise the immune system as a whole, leaving our bodies more vulnerable to attack from bacteria, viruses, and additional pathogens.
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CoQ10 is an essential cofactor your body uses to derive energy; you cannot survive without it. CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant present in every cell in your body. Because of its ubiquitous presence, you may see it referred to as ubiquinone.
CoQ10 is essential for the normal function of all your major organs. It is especially important to the energy-guzzling organs, like your heart, brain, kidneys, and liver. CoQ10 provides your body with “high octane” fuel, and it provides other vital benefits:
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When she returned to the cardiologist to tell him the good news, she showed him the remarkable nutrient that normalized her blood pressure better than the drugs. Rather than rejoice in her success, he became irate, told her that CoQ10 could not possibly help her blood pressure, and threw the CoQ10 in the trash. Incredibly, this is not the only story like this one.
Doctors operate under a troubling double standard. Most doctors are well informed of the uses and benefits of drugs but uninformed and suspicious of nutritional solutions. In fact, there are more than 100 studies that show the cardiac benefits of taking CoQ10.
In chapter 8 of The Doctor’s Heart Cure, you’ll find out how and why CoQ10 works to strengthen the heart. Since it is difficult to get optimal levels of this substance from the typical modern American diet, you’ll also discover how to use CoQ10 supplements in your heart-healthy routine.
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Drug companies know about this dangerous side effect. One company even developed a statin-CoQ10 combination drug to offset the CoQ10 stripped from the body but decided not to market the drug to avoid highlighting this harmful side effect. Clearly the companies recognize that their drugs drain the body of CoQ10, and they have done nothing to educate physicians and patients about this very real danger of taking statins. Instead, they downplay this fact in hopes that the news about this side effect does not interfere with drug sales.
Unfortunately, most doctors don’t know enough about the link between statin drugs and CoQ10 to recommend that their patients take supplements. Some misinformed doctors even discourage the use of CoQ10 and other nutritional supplements altogether.
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In contrast, you may need to increase the size of your muscles. Muscle wasting has its consequences in aging. In that case, resistance training may be your best course. It is a scientific way to apply overload to isolated muscles. Since you can easily manipulate the resistance by incrementally increasing the weight, you can perpetuate the stimulus for muscle growth.
You can use your body composition measurements from Chapter 5, Measure Your Real Heart Health, to determine if you need to build or restore muscle mass. If your muscle mass is low, you will find a program for quick and efficient muscle building in Chapter 11, Individualize Your Heart Cure.
But in years of practical application, one glaring limitation of weight training remains: You’re not really training anything. It’s more “untraining” your muscles; it teaches them to tense. This tends to create unnatural patterns of movement, sets you up for injuries, and is not the best way to build practical strength that you can use.
Exercises that put your body through “functional” natural patterns of movement train your entire circuit from thought to action. This neuromuscular education is essential if you want that new muscle to be capable of doing anything.
Whenever you call on your muscles in real life, they move against the resistance of your own body weight. Before weight training became the rule, we called these body weight exercises calisthenics. They are still the best way to build functional strength.
Your prehistoric ancestors had to run, jump, climb, and fight in their daily pursuit of food and security. You can develop the extraordinary functional strength of wild animals by using your own body weight.
Bodybuilders can develop massive muscles through intensive resistance training, but gymnasts, acrobats, swimmers, sprinters, and athletes in many disciplines develop better functional muscle capacity. They have greater practical strength in response to the demands of their bodies in motion.
Remember, your cardiovascular system has muscle, too. These optimal exercises for growing your muscular strength will also help to strengthen the muscles of your heart, the muscles lining your blood vessels and the muscles expanding your lungs.
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When a man sits on a bicycle seat, his groin supports the entire weight of his body. This puts intense pressure in the area near the genitals, which contains the nerves and arteries that transmit feeling and blood to the genitals. Prolonged pressure can cause genital numbness and even temporary impotency.
You can build reserve capacity in your heart, lungs, and muscles in as little as ten minutes a day. There is no need to sit on a bicycle seat for an extended amount of time. Limit your cycling to less than three hours a week.
If you like cycling and are still concerned, vary your activities. Cycle a few times a week and do other forms of exercise you like during the rest of the week. Also, check with bicycle companies that recently marketed new seats designed specifically to take pressure off the genitals.
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The point is to start with what is a comfortable level of exertion for you. As you improve your fitness, this same level of activity will become easier for you.
Now you make use of your added capacity by increasing the level of the exercise. This will coach your body into increasing your exercise capacity further. With this week-by-week gradual progression of your workout as your body responds, you do not feel an uncomfortable or painful perceived level of exertion.
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When you get use to PACE and use it to your full advantage, your workout sessions usually last less than 14 minutes!
When you become conditioned well enough to do it, exercising for just 30 seconds at an intensity level of 9 or 10 will seem like a surprisingly long time.
In fact, your body cannot sustain exercise at this level much longer because your muscles need more oxygen than your body can supply. But this is exactly why it pays off! This rate of exercise is training your heart and blood vessels to deliver more oxygen faster.
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You might want to alternate the various types of exercise to keep your routine fun and lower the chances of overuse injuries. You are most likely to stick with your program when you choose exercises you enjoy.
Begin by developing an exercise routine based on activities you enjoy. Your goal is to perform this exercise for 20 minutes at a time at low intensity. If you can’t exercise for 20 minutes without stopping, rest as needed. As you’re starting out write down what you do. It is helpful to determine your current level of fitness to use as a baseline to track your progress.
In the second week, begin experimenting with the pace. Push yourself a little harder and then ease up a bit. Vary your pace as much as you feel comfortable.
As you play with the pace, begin to develop an internal scale of how intensely you exercise. Use a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 or 2 is a leisurely pace, all the way up to full throttle at 9 or 10.
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You can also increase the challenge of your working by changing the duration of your exercise, but in the opposite direction of most exercisers. As your level of fitness improves, you need to decrease the duration of your workout. In other words, you cover the same distance in shorter and shorter times. You will find that by gradually shortening your intervals, it gets easier to increase the intensity with each session, and increasing intensity will continue to increase your capacity.
During your rest periods, don’t stop entirely but keep moving at a gentle pace as you recover. Light activity keeps your blood circulating to replenish your muscles’ depleted energy stores and removes accumulated lactic acid wastes. Studies show that your muscles recover faster with light activity than with complete immobility. For instance, if you sprint during your interval, you will keep moving at a walk or gentle trot for your rest period. You have a natural inclination to do this. If you listen to your body, you will want to keep moving after a sprint to “walk it off.”
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