Energetics and Heart Conditions:
Abnormal energy metabolism in diseased hearts is causing changes in basic function of the heart muscle and cells. Studies reveal that both the level of restriction in blood flow and duration of oxygen deprivation, are important determinants for the extent of ATP (energy) degradation and loss of the total energy pool.
These factors determine the extent to which the heart can recover following episodes of chest pain, heart attack, or even after surgery or angioplasty. It has been shown that large loss of energy pool during procedures can impact the patient’s life. This is why I put my patients on Q10, carnitine, ribose, and magnesium before any surgical procedure. Any intervention that will slow the rate of ATP degradation or speed the recovery of ATP will minimize heart damage and improve cardiac function in chronically ill hearts.
Many heart diseases have abnormal energy metabolism at their core.
Coronary artery disease is caused by the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels feeding the heart. The plaque formation restricts blood flow to the heart muscle and deprives the heart cells of oxygen, forcing them to use energy supply faster than it can be restored. In heart disease, there is severe depression in the cardiac energy pool.
Patients with heart disease have a wide variety of symptoms, including chest pain, chest pressure, tightness, heaviness, shortness of breath, indigestion, and associated symptoms. They may have a cough or just feel tired.
Even after surgery or stent placement, or angioplasty, blood flow may be restored, but the energy pool does not recover, or recovery is very slow. Importantly, patients who have a high energy prior to procedures such as surgery or angioplasty, have improved functional recovery after these procedures. Therefore, it is important on focusing on the health of the energy pool in these patients.
Congestive heart failure or dilated cardiomyopathy are progressive diseases in which the heart muscle becomes so weak that it cannot effectively pump blood to the various parts of the body.
Patients with these conditions usually experience shortness of breath with minimal exercise and have pains in their legs or peripheral skeletal muscles, because the heart cannot pump enough blood to supply the oxygen needed by the rest of the body to make energy. Fluid builds up in the legs and lungs, and finally, the heart itself becomes congested with blood because it is no longer strong enough to move it forward out of the circulation.
Hearts in congestive heart failure are energy-starved. There is dysfunction of the cardiac energy recycling in these hearts, and the cardiac energy pool is depleted. Patients in congestive heart failure are deficient in co-enzyme Q10, pqq and carnitine, restricting mitochondrial functions and exacerbating the metabolic dysfunction.
Cardiomyopathy is the state in which the muscle tissue of the heart has become damaged, diseased, or enlarged, or stretched and thin.
This most often happens as the result of heart attacks or longstanding, untreated high blood pressure. Cardiomyopathy can also be caused by genetic modification associated with energy production. There may also be a result of nutritional deficiencies or longstanding excessive alcohol consumption, infection, or severe inflammation such as a viral assault on the heart. Cardiomyopathic hearts just do not metabolize enough energy.
No matter the cause, the patient with cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure are unable to generate enough energy, or to allow sufficient relaxation for refilling of the heart. Studies have shown improvement in cardiac energy metabolism with Q10, carnitine, and d-ribose therapy.
Heart palpitations or cardiac arrhythmias are a common complaint that bring people to the cardiologist. Fortunately, irregular heartbeats are rarely a cause for concern, in about one-third of normal hearts. One of the more common arrhythmias is premature ventricular contractions. The patient may experience a “skipped heartbeat.” There are many causes for premature ventricular co