Mitoquinone supplement improves heart function in Type 2 diabetes, study finds

The overlooked link between diabetes and heart health

Diabetes is a disease related to uncontrolled blood glucose, which can wreak havoc on many systems of the body, including the brain, eyes, and especially the heart. However, many diabetics aren’t aware that their condition can increase risk of other diseases and what they can do to prevent it.

Why heart disease is a leading concern

Heart disease is a number one killer throughout the world, both for men and women. Early symptoms may start with hypertension and high lipid levels but can quickly progress to larger issues such as heart failure.

As the heart becomes more and more strained from weakened muscles and low energy output, it loses its ability to adequately pump blood throughout the body. Poor blood flow leads to many other problems such as inability to perform everyday tasks, such as walking upstairs, and great limits a patient’s quality of life and longevity.

A new approach to protecting diabetic hearts

Heart failure is well-known risk for diabetics, but until now many physicians had few methods to address the very earliest signs of heart stress. That may be changing.

A recent study presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference indicated that Mitoquinone supplements, also known as MitoQ or Mitoquinol Mesylate, may help diabetics keep their heart healthy.

Promising results from the MitoQ study

Henry Proctor, the lead author and Eylem Levelt, the senior author, explained that Mitoquinone supplements given for 4 months at a dose of 40mg per day improved heart efficiency in pumping and using energy. In fact, the 70 patients who took Mitoquinone supplements had their heart’s energy use improve up to 15%. This is due to Mitoquinone’s unique ability to reduce mitochondrial oxidative stress, which can interfere with how well heart cells can make energy.

How MitoQ supports cardiovascular function

Mitoquinone, popularly known as MitoQ Mitoquinol, a supplement available OTC, has been shown to improve inflammation and mitochondria function in patients with heart failure. Moreover, MitoQ helps improve vascular function and blood flow in healthy older adults. MitoQ’s function as a potent mitochondria antioxidant that combats age-related damage in animal models, suggests it can help many aspects of cardiovascular health.

In this recent study, participants’ hearts functioned better under physical stress, recovered more efficiently after exercise, and showed signs of reduced stiffness, an early marker of heart failure. These results suggest that MitoQ may help the heart stay more flexible and resilient.

While the subjects enrolled did not have overt heart failure during the study, early signs of it were found as the study progressed. However, Mitoquinone supplements seemed to improve these signs, thus potentially reversing some of the damage caused by diabetes.

Safety and what comes next

Importantly, none of the subjects reported any adverse events or bad side effects, meaning Mitoquinone (MitoQ) may be easy to incorporate into a treatment plan.

While further research is underway, these findings offer hope to the nearly 40 million Americans living with type 2 diabetes, showing that early intervention with a targeted antioxidant like MitoQ could help protect long-term cardiovascular health.