Since its discovery in the late 1950s Coenzyme Q10
(CoQ10) has received much attention as a necessary compound for proper cellular
function. It is the essential coenzyme necessary for the production of ATP
(adenosine triphosphate) upon which all cellular functions depend. Without ATP
our bodies cannot function properly. Without CoQ10, ATP cannot function. This
connection has made CoQ10 a very important object of study in relation to
chronic disease.
In many cases the presence of chronic disease is
associated with inadequate levels of CoQ10. But no area of study has received
more attention than the relation between CoQ10 and heart disease. That is
because CoQ10 is believed to be of fundamental importance in cells with high
metabolic demands such as cardiac cells. A further reason the connection of
heart disease and CoQ10 has gained so much attention is because heart
conditions of many kinds are associated with chronically low CoQ10 levels.
