Statin Drugs: Fanning the Flames of Heart Failure?

It’s no secret that statin drugs, designed to reduce cholesterol, also reduce levels of valuable coenzyme Q10. These medications work by blocking an enzyme involved in the production of both cholesterol and coenzyme Q10, so as cholesterol falls, so falls CoQ10.

Even the pharmaceutical companies know it, even though they don’t warn patients or physicians about it. What isn’t well known are the adverse effects these drugs have on the heart.

In one study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, Texas cardiologist Peter Langsjoen, MD, and colleagues studied patients who had high cholesterol but were free of heart disease. They obtained blood levels of CoQ10 and echocardiograms of their hearts, and then started them on Lipitor, 20 mg per day for three to six months.

Guess what? Seventy-one percent of them developed diastolic dysfunction (a potential cause of congestive heart failure)! This subgroup was then treated with 300 mg of coenzyme Q10 per day in addition to Lipitor. After three months, 89 percent of these patients had reversal of at least one marker of diastolic dysfunction and 44 percent had reversal of all three markers measured.

There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the popularity of statin drugs and the rise in heart failure are linked. I’ve told you this before, and I’m telling you again: If you’re on a statin, consider finding a physician to help wean you off it this drug using natural, cholesterol-lowering supplements. If you must use these medications, protect yourself by taking at least 100–300 mg of CoQ10 daily.