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Supplementary Therapeutic Possibilities to Alleviate Myocardial Damage Due to Microvascular Dysfunction in
Mihály Medvegy1, Gábor Simonyi2
1Cardiology Department, Flor Ferenc Hospital, Kistarcsa, Hungary. drmedvegy@hotmail.com.
Insights
Severe COVID-19 can cause heart damage due to microvascular dysfunction. Trimetazidine and Coenzyme Q10 may help reduce this myocardial damage and inflammation in COVID-19 patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Myocardial damage and elevated troponin are common in severe COVID-19, stemming from endothelial dysfunction, carditis, hypoxia, and sympathetic overactivity.
- These factors exacerbate myocardial stiffness and microvascular dysfunction (MD), leading to heart failure, arrhythmias, and increased mortality.
- Current COVID-19 treatment lacks specific cardiac interventions, though anxiolytics are sometimes used to manage anxiety's impact on MD.
Discussion:
- Trimetazidine (TMZ) enhances glucose metabolism for ATP production, requiring less oxygen and offering cardiac benefits.
- TMZ's anti-inflammatory properties, including reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and macrophage infiltration, suggest potential in sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction.
- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is vital for ATP production but depleted in cardiovascular diseases and influenza; its anti-inflammatory effects are noted.
Key Insights:
- TMZ and CoQ10 have demonstrated benefits in myocardial ischemia and heart failure, with suspected anti-inflammatory roles.
- Their mechanisms, including improved ATP production and reduced inflammation, are relevant to mitigating COVID-19-related cardiac injury.
- Anxiolytics may help moderate MD and the immunosuppressive effects of anxiety in COVID-19 patients.
Outlook:
- Investigating TMZ and CoQ10 as adjuvant therapies could alleviate myocardial damage and inflammation in COVID-19.
- Further research is needed to establish the efficacy and safety of these agents in managing cardiac complications of COVID-19.
- Exploring novel therapeutic targets for COVID-19-associated cardiovascular sequelae is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
Abstract:
Myocardial damage with a consequent rise in cardio-specific troponin level is a frequent phenomenon in severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Its causes are capillary endothelial cell dysfunction, associated carditis, low oxygenization, and increased sympathetic tone, which all worsen myocardial stiffness and microvascular dysfunction (MD). They lead to severe myocardial dysfunction, arrhythmia, acute congestive heart failure, and a significant rise in death cases. During COVID-19, no specific cardiological treatment is started. As adjuvant therapy, anxiolytics in COVID-19 are widely used, but not in all anxious patients who had been infected with coronavirus. Anxiolytics can be useful to moderate MD and immunosuppressive effect of anxiety. The favorable effects of trimetazidine (TMZ) and Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in the treatment of myocardial ischemia and heart failure had previously been proven, and also their anti-inflammatory effects had been suspected; however, they have not yet been used in COVID-19 cases. TMZ promotes glucose-mediated ATP production, which requires less oxygen, which explains its advantageous cardiac effects. Since it lowers serum and myocardial tissue proinflammatory cytokine levels and inhibits myocardial macrophage infiltration, it was suspected that TMZ might represent a novel therapeutic agent to prevent and treat sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction. CoQ10 plays an important role in cellular ATP production; however, its concentration is decreased in cardiovascular diseases and in influenza patients. Due to its anti-inflammatory effect, CoQ10 has been suspected to have a key therapeutic target in influenza infection. We suggest considering these medicines to alleviate myocardial damage and inflammation in COVID-19.
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