Selenium and Coenyme Q10 Improves Heart Function and Cuts Risk of Death

Results of a five-year long study suggest that long-term supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Urban Alehagen, MD, PhD, and colleagues from Linköping University and the Karolinska Institutet conducted the randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial on 443 men and women aged between 70 and 88. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 200 mg/day of coenzyme Q10 plus 200 mg/ day of organic selenium yeast or placebo. By the end of the study 12.6% of participants in the placebo group died from cardiovascular disease, compared with just 5.9% in the selenium/CoQ10 group. Further investigation revealed that levels of N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a biomarker of tension in the heart wall, were significantly lower in the selenium/CoQ10 group. Echocardiography also showed that those in the selenium/CoQ10 group had a significantly better cardiac function score. The researchers concluded: “Long-term supplementation of selenium/CoQ10 reduces cardiovascular mortality. We suggest that the results of this study can provide a basis for extended analyses of the effects of selenium/CoQ10 on various conditions, and that further supplementation studies in larger populations involving diverse age groups should be initiated.”