Will President’s Clinton’s Physicians Prescribe Coenzyme Q-10?
27 Sep 2007
I would have given my right arm to be at the press conference following President Clinton’s Heart surgery. Why? Because I knew that the journalists would ask the same old question. How would the bypass operation affect Clinton’s longevity? I also knew his doctors would tell journalists that he would be on cholesterol-lowering drugs for the rest of his life. And I knew that hell would freeze over before anyone asked, "Will the President also be given coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q10) to protect against the adverse effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs)?"
Last week in this column, I explained that CLDs have a number of side effects. This column suggests that this country may be facing an epidemic of congestive heart failure (CHF) due to the widespread use of CLDs. Clinton’s heart disease presented an excellent opportunity to discuss the merits of coenzyme Q10.
Heart failure is the fastest growing cause of heart disease in North America. Most people relate this to an aging population. Old hearts get tired and become less efficient. But at a meeting in London, England, several researchers suggested a surprising new reason, cholesterol-lowering drugs. It’s ironic that the very medication prescribed to prevent heart disease may in fact be causing it!
CLDs such as Lipitor, Zocor, Mevacor and others are effective in decreasing blood cholesterol. But as always there’s a price to pay for drugs.
Cholesterol drugs work by inhibiting an enzyme required for the production of cholesterol. Unfortunately, this enzyme is also needed in the manufacture of Co-Q10 an important nutrient for normal cardiac function.
Co-Q10 has been called the "sparkplug of our motors". It generates energy for the heart’s muscle. And we know what happens when sparkplugs fail to function in automobiles.
Studies show that CLDs, used for one year, can decrease Co-Q10 by as much as 40 per cent. This is like draining the gas tank that fuels the car. In this case, sapping energy away from the heart and other muscles. Several researchers believe it’s lack of Co-Q10 in the heart’s muscle that may be responsible for the increasing rates of CHF.
Currently 15 published articles show that CLDs lower Co-Q10 in humans and how this affects cardiac function. In addition, the higher the dose of CLD the more Co-Q10 is removed from the heart’s muscle.
You can bet that President Clinton’s doctors will prescribe high doses of a CLD in an attempt to lower his blood cholesterol as much as possible. And my bet is that Clinton, rather than getting an increased amount of Co-Q10 to compensate for the adverse effects of the CLD, won’t get any at all. There’s been no mention of this medication by his physicians.
Dr. Khursheed Jeejeebhoy, Professor of Nutrition, at the University of Toronto, reports that the heart muscles of patients suffering from heart failure show decreased levels of Co-Q10. And that Co-Q10 therapy along with the energy producing substances Taurine and Carnitine, improves cardiac performance. Several other studies show that patients with heart failure have decreased amounts of Co-Q10.
Another report in the American Journal of Cardiology showed that a daily dose of 150 milligrams of C0-Q10 decreases the incidence of angina by 50 per cent. It’s believed that Co-Q10 allows the heart to work harder before oxygen lack causes angina.
Further research shows that as we age the body’s ability to extract Co-Q10 from food decreases. Not too surprising as all our organs work less efficiently with the passage of time.
Printed matter routinely distributed to patients using CLDs outlines potential side effects such as muscle weakness, and possible liver damage. But no mention is made that CLDs decrease the amount of Co-Q10 an action detrimental to the heart.
In 1974 the Japanese government, due to all these findings, approved the use of C0-Q10 to prevent and treat heart disease. Today over 12 million Japanese are taking this medication.
Several doctors at the meeting in London, England, questioned why pharmaceutical companies have not recommended Co-Q10 to counteract the effects of CLDs.
I too wonder why the President’s physicians have been so silent about its use. But it would not be the first time a president has received less than the best care.
