General responses to selected questions from Joel Braunstein, MD, of Johns Hopkins University and Joseph Toscano, MD.
Question:
Is coenzyme Q-10 beneficial in lowering borderline high-blood pressure?
Answer:
Coenzyme Q-10 is a chemical that serves a necessary role in the production of energy within all cells. It also appears to have antioxidant effects, perhaps relating to its role in the chemical activation of vitamin E, a better-known antioxidant vitamin.
Unfortunately, despite all of the chemical information we have about the molecule, we do not know exactly how deficiencies or supplementation of coenzyme Q-10 translates into health and disease. There are a fair number of small, short-term studies demonstrating mild improvement in patients with heart failure and coronary disease, but rigorous scientific information regarding its effects in hypertension is nonexistent. There has been a suggestion that it may be helpful.
On the other hand, there is a large amount of excellent evidence that a healthy lifestyle and the medications we usually use for hypertension are effective and generally safe. I assume that you're asking about coenzyme Q-10 because you feel (as do many others, including myself!) that if it is indeed effective, supplementation with it might be preferable to medication because it is a natural substance found in the body already. It is, in fact, clear (from very good National Institutes of Health evidence using coenzyme Q-10 to treat the neurological condition Parkinson's Disease) that there has been no demonstrated harm in the long-term use of coenzyme Q-10 in dosages as high as 1,200 mg per day.
With all of this in mind, my advice would be this: Anyone with definite high blood pressure should not stop or delay standard treatment – including medication and a healthy lifestyle – to use coenzyme Q-10. For those individuals in this category who are interested in using the supplement, once their blood pressure is successfully controlled, they could begin with 100-200 mg of coenzyme Q-10 per day. (This is the dosage that has been studied for high blood pressure.) Blood pressure should be followed closely and any improvement could be accompanied by a decrease in other medication, as supervised by your physician. Using higher dosages may be more beneficial, though this has not been proven.
