Expert: David Richardson - 11/28/2006

Question
I am a 42-year old male, 195 pounds, blood pressure 120/70. I take Lipitor, Benicar, and Metformin.

I have been taking Lipitor for about 3 years. Recently my doctor has suggested that I also take CoQ10, given that Lipitor may decrease CoQ10 levels in the body (and may therefore lead to heart disease years down the road). I notice that CoQ10 is quite expensive, so I wonder if the link between long-term use of Lipitor and heart disease is well-established. In other words, is this expense necessary?

Answer
Dear Mr. McPherson,

The link between long-term use of Lipitor and heart disease is extremely well established, especially 40 mg of Lipitor a day.  The link between CoQ10 and Lipitor is not so well established, but if you go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi    enter CoQ10 in the search box near the top ( be sure the box to left of where you type reads PubMed)  and click on Go, you'll find a list of references, one of which is about the link betwee CoQ10 and Lipitor.  Small study, in Russian, but the abstract makes CoQ10 sond wonderful in combination with Lipitor.  If my memory hasn't served to get you to that study, please write back and I'll send additional instructions.  And of course write back if I have misunderstood your questions or you have new questions.

David Richardson