Fascinating Aspects of Glycobiology—Part 12 (Heart Disease)

Larry A. Law

The adult human body has over 60,000 miles of blood-carrying vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries). That is 100,000 kilometers or 2.5 times around the circumference of the earth if our blood vessels were laid end to end! The inside cavity of these vessels looks like a dark tunnel. The inside, inner surface of this 'tunnel' is called the lumen. The surface of the lumen consists of endothelial cells with their glycocalyx extending towards the inner cavity of the blood vessel. Blood flows through this inner chamber on top of the glycocalyx of the endothelial cells as shown in the picture.

A Shield and a Protection

The glycocalyx of these epithelial cells actually shields and protects the circulatory system or vascular walls from direct exposure to the friction caused by blood flow. They create a negatively charged network of glycoproteins and glycolipids. This electrical force field keeps the blood flowing above the ceiling of these cells and not on the floor where they would rub directly against and damage the surface cells constituting the lining of the blood vessel. Thus, the blood flow is buffered by an electrical charge off the sugar antennas, and this buffering minimizes the potential damage to surface blood vessel cells created by fluid traveling at high speed. On average, the blood travels 3 or 4 mph, equivalent to how fast adults walk. It takes only one minute for blood to make a round trip through the circulatory system and return to the heart. At the aorta, the blood is travelling 15 inches per second. By way of comparison, if you were standing on the banks of this river of blood at the aorta, the blood would be roaring and rushing by you like water coursing down rapids.​

Cardiovascular Disease

Heart disease is the #1 most common disease. It kills more Americans than any other disease. According to the CDC, every year 805,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of these, 605,000 are having their first heart attack and 200,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack. Because of the collateral damage caused by the experimental mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, myocarditis has become rampant. It targets young adults who drop dead suddenly from cardiac arrest. There are currently some 436,000 sudden deaths from cardiac arrest per year or 1195 every day. Sadly, cardiac arrest is the first symptom for 50% of men and 64% of women. These individuals thought they were healthy and had no health concerns, but in one tragic moment, they died.

And for those who still haven't heard about the cholesterol lie, these heart attacks are not related to cholesterol levels because 75% of people experiencing a heart attack have 'good' cholesterol! The damage to heart vessels comes from calcified plaque and cells missing glycans, resulting in an unhealthy glycocalyx (see picture below). A healthy glycocalyx is able to reduce the friction on the surface of the endothelial cells, which is what causes damage. This reduction in friction prevents the necessary emergency repair by the immune system, which lays down calcium as a hard sealant (plaque) to keep the blood vessel from suffering a catastrophic blowout hole. 

Healthy Endothelial Glycocalyx

An actual picture taken from inside a blood vessel (vascular lumen) is depicted below. The forest of glycoproteins and glycolipids extending out from the host endothelial cells creates an invisible force field that the blood rides upon. This saves the interior of the blood vessel from the day-to-day wear and tear of constant, high-velocity fluid traveling within it. This is a critical factor in protecting the body from hardening of the arteries, so common in heart disease.

A Brief Word on Hypertension (high blood pressure)

The medical community generally treats heart disease with drugs called calcium channel blockers (CCBs). What do they do? They block excess calcium from going into the cells. If calcium doesn't go into bone and other cells, where does it go? All of these drugs aim to relax constricted blood vessels and reduce pressure, but the calcium has to go somewhere. So, the blood pressure may go down, but the risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease goes up! We are told not to worry because it is 'only a side effect' and there is another drug that can treat that ailment! One of the side effects of that second drug includes death, but no one talks about that until the autopsy. 

The majority of people have excess calcium (it is added to fortified foods in an inorganic form—not plant-based). The calcium cascade occurs if there is excess calcium in the body. The cascade leads to needing more and more magnesium to keep the calcium/magnesium ratio in balance. A magnesium deficiency leads to increased muscle tension (cramping), and nerve endings firing erratically and other electrical malfunctions in the body. In its need for more magnesium, the body suppresses the adrenal function to retain more of this vital mineral. Adrenal suppression causes a continuous loss of sodium and potassium in the urine, as well as overall depression (damping) of the immune system. This results in a loss of sodium needed to produce stomach acid that, in turn, is required to digest protein. This decline in digestive function causes heartburn and digestive disorders. Sodium depletion leads to a failure of the cell membrane electrical potential ion exchange. This voltage potential is necessary for cellular function and is the mechanism all cells (except fat cells) utilize to get essential amino acids and glucose into each and every cell.

From this explanation, it's easy to see that countless metabolic pathways all tie back to each other in diverse ways. For more information on the problems associated with calcium supplementation, see my book. And by the way, don't eliminate real salt (the kind that has minerals in it—you need those minerals!). Eliminate refined salt (so-called 'table salt') and replace it with real, sea salt, if you want to help with hypertension.