According to recent research, people taking statins to lower cholesterol should make sure they have an adequate supply of the vital energy enzyme Q10. “Statins not only inhibit the body’s own production of cholesterol, but also the synthesis of Q10,” explains Markus P. Look, MD, an internist from Bonn, Germany, and author of the paper published by the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association. Since the heart muscle in particular depends on a sufficient supply of Q10 due to its high energy requirements, a deficiency can lead to a reduction in cardiac output. “Since the entire cardiovascular system is usually weakened in statin patients, a Q10 deficiency should be avoided,” Look makes clear. His advice: take a Q10 supplement with your daily statin tablet.
Dangers of high cholesterol
According to leading cardiologists’ associations, a high cholesterol level is the greatest risk factor for cardiovascular disease, Germany’s number one cause of death. Statins are most commonly prescribed to lower elevated cholesterol. Almost 4 million Germans depend on these drugs, because statins effectively inhibit the body’s own production of cholesterol. However, because our bodies produce the vital energy enzyme Q10 through the same metabolic pathway, statins can cause Q10 deficiency.
Q10 – energy supplier of the heart.
The entire human body is dependent on Q10 – without Q10, there is no life. In particular, organs with high energy requirements such as the heart muscle have the highest Q10 concentrations. “If the supply of Q10 to the heart, which is already throttled in old age, is additionally slowed by statins, this can lead to a drop in the performance of several organ systems,” Look said.
This undesirable side effect can have consequences, especially for the elderly and patients with heart failure: Cardiac function deteriorates further, and in the worst case, a threatening heart failure, as well as damage to the kidneys and nervous system, could be the result.
Q10 – protection against vascular calcification.
In addition to its function as an energy supplier, Q10 fulfills another important function in people with high cholesterol levels: it protects LDL cholesterol from attack by aggressive oxygen particles, known as “oxidation.” This is because “oxidized” LDL is largely responsible for the calcification and thus the occlusion of the blood vessels. Ergo: Cholesterol is lowered by statins but in the absence of Q10 is increasingly oxidized and thus dangerous for our veins.
