By David Liu, PHD

Monday Nov 19 2012 (foodconsumer.org) - A new study published in Resuscitation suggests that having sufficient serum Coenzyme Q10 may help prevent cardiac arrest and better prognosis of this deadly medical event.

N. Michael of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, United States and colleagues conducted the study and found Coenzyme Q10 levels were lower in patients who suffered cardiac arrest, compared to controls, and those who died or had a poor neurologic outcome from the event had even lower serum levels of Coenzyme Q10.

Survival from cardiac arrest is poor due to the profound neurologic damage from ischemia–reperfusion injury and limited treatment options.  Early studies suggest that coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10 may benefit patients who experienced cardiac arrest, according to the authors.

For the study, CoQ10, inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers were measured in samples collected from 23 cardiac arrest patients 24 hours after return of spontaneous circulation and also 16 healthy people as controls.

It was found that CoQ10 levels in cardiac arrest patients were significantly lower than that in controls, 0.28 umol/L versus 0.75 umol/L.

Patients who died from cardiac arrest had even lower serum levels of CoQ10 than those who survived, 0.27 versus 0.47 umol/L.

Among cardiac arrest survivors, those who had 0.49 umol/L of CoQ10 had a better neurological outcome than those who had 0.27 umol/L.

CoQ10 was found to be a statistically significant predictor of poor neurologic outcome and in-hospital mortality.

The researchers concluded "CoQ10 levels are low in human subjects with ROSC after cardiac arrest as compared to healthy controls. CoQ10 levels were lower in those who died, as well as in those with a poor neurologic outcome."

Coenzyme Q10 is a micro nutrient that has been associated with a range of diseases.   Coenyzme Q10 supplements have been found to protect against DNA damage in the aging process, thus, this nutrient can help the normal or healthy aging. It can also help prevent cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the oxidation of low density lipoprotein.

CoQ10 is used to treat diseases like mitochondrial encephalomyopathies, cardiovascular diseases, congestive heart failure,  myocardial infarction and cardiac surgery, angina pectoris, hypertension, vascular endothelial function (blood vessel dilation), type 2 diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Friedreich's ataxia, and cancer.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for about 325,000 deaths each year.