Can Coenzyme Q₁₀ Lead to Improvement of Essential Hypertension?: A Long-Term Case Study

Abstract

Many hypertensive patients are continuously prescribed various antihypertensive drugs despite the undesirable side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and vertigo. To decrease the use of cardiovascular drugs for preventing these side effects, alternative pharmacotherapy with supplements such as coenzyme Q₁₀ has been extensively studied. However, the effects of coenzyme Q₁₀ based on clinical trials involving relatively small patient numbers have been varied, and the impact on the cardiovascular system remains to be clarified. Here we report a case of 67-year-old woman with essential hypertension (maximum systolic/diastolic blood pressure: 155/100 mmHg) who had been prescribed candesartan cilexetil as an outpatient for about 5 years. Regardless of the treatment, the symptoms were not relieved, and the systolic and diastolic blood pressures gradually increased with age. However, after week-long supplementation with coenzyme Q₁₀, her diastolic blood pressure returned to normal, and so did her systolic blood pressure after month-long supplementation. Subsequently, she completely ceased taking candesartan. Thus, coenzyme Q₁₀ supplementation may be effective for selected patients with essential hypertension. This should be investigated further in randomized controlled trials.