In past articles, I introduced a revolutionary new medical device called GlycoCheck that was recently released to healthcare practitioners after 15 years in research hospitals and universities (research with the GlycoCheck is ongoing). This technology measures and analyzes the function of your entire microvascular system, so you can monitor the health of the endothelial glycocalyx lining inside your microvessels. In this article, I want to dig a little deeper into the information we can garner from the results, so you can gain a better understanding of why you should get this scan.
But, first, let’s answer an important question…
What Is the Glycocalyx?
The glycocalyx is the lining of all our blood vessels, made up of a micro-thin gel. It is the largest organ in the body, protecting the inside walls of our entire circulatory system. If the glycocalyx is compromised and the vessel wall is exposed, this can lead to calcification, plaque buildup, reduced nitric oxide, and proteins leaking.
Early warning signs of declining health due to a damaged glycocalyx are fatigue, cold hands and feet, thinning hair, memory loss, diabetes, high blood pressure, neuropathy, lack of focus, and slow wound healing. Scientific research tells us that endothelial glycocalyx dysfunction can progress to several diseases/conditions, such as kidney disease, cancer metastasis, dementia, and long-haul COVID-19 complications.
The Role and Health of the Glycocalyx
Many researchers consider the endothelial glycocalyx as a first line of defense against vascular diseases. You cannot have healthy vascular walls without a healthy glycocalyx – when the glycocalyx lining is breached, it can leave the endothelium vulnerable to the formation of atherosclerotic plaque, initiating the inflammatory response that leads to plaque formation.
Other functions of the glycocalyx include the regulation of vascular permeability, fluid balance, and the synthesis of nitric oxide in response to the blood flow. The surface of the glycocalyx helps maintain endothelial function, including arterial elasticity and healthy blood pressure.
How Does GlycoCheck Work, and What Does It Measure?
GlycoCheck is a noninvasive, under-the-tongue test that shows the live movement of your red blood cells. This device produces a single Microvascular Health Score that reveals the health of the glycocalyx by measuring several critical parameters of the microvascular system:
- Capillary Density: Gives the capacity of your capillary network to get nutrients to organs and tissue cells. Higher numbers are better.
- Capillary Blood Volume (CBV) Recruitment Capacity: Shows the additional number of functional capillary blood vessels that can be engaged when flow increases. Higher is better.
- CBV Dynamic: When all available capillary blood vessels are engaged at high blood flow levels this tells the maximum functional capacity of the capillary network. Higher is better.
- Perfused Boundary Region (PBR) Flow Corrected: Indicates the level of damage to the endothelial glycocalyx. A lower number indicates a healthier glycocalyx.
- Microvascular Health Score (MVHS): This is your overall score based on capillary density, recruitment capacity, and glycocalyx health. A higher score means better microvascular health.
Lower Microvascular Health Scores are linked to:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Stroke
- Dementia
- Septic shock
- Inflammatory disorders
- Cancer metastasis
- Long-haul COVID-19 complications
Why Should You Have a GlycoCheck Scan of Your Microvascular System?
There are many reasons to have a GlycoCheck scan, but I believe these are the most important:
- Knowing the health of your glycocalyx. Recent research indicates that impaired glycocalyx health contributes to loss of microvascular function in conditions and diseases such as diabetes, dementia, cancer metastasis, heart disease, and more.
- Understanding your true vascular health. You may look and even feel healthy on the outside, but inside your microvascular system, a completely different situation could be developing.
- Obtaining valuable information you can give your doctor that will be an asset for your overall care.
- Taking action to repair and protect your microcirculation and change the health of your microvascular system therefore your health.
- Protecting yourself from premature health decline.
- Have peace of mind.
Can You Can Restore, Regenerate, and Protect Your Glycocalyx?
Yes! No matter what your microvascular health score is, you can still improve the health of your vascular system! Clinically proven to repair the damage in your arteries, veins, and microcapillaries is a patented product called Endocalyx Pro.
Endocalyx Pro is made up of seven synergistic ingredients from three classes of compounds: polysaccharides (helps restore), amino sugars (helps regenerate), and antioxidants (helps protect). You can restore the health of your endothelial glycocalyx and capillary function with Endocalyx Pro and monitor your progress with GlycoCheck. As the health of your glycocalyx improves, so improves your other health data that makes up your Microvascular Health Score.
Without a doubt, lifestyle choices are just as important. Support the health of your glycocalyx by having a healthy lifestyle, reducing stress, exercising regularly, and eating an anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean-style diet.
If you’re looking to enhance your quality of health/longevity or gain insight into your true cardiovascular potential and risk, then GlycoCheck is the answer. This is valuable information for your Physician to have also. It just might be life-changing information or a wakeup call for better health. GlycoCheck is a very interesting experience to have! See the live movement of your red blood cells as they move through your microcapillaries. The scan is noninvasive and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
For practitioners, the GlycoCheck is not only an objective tool to monitor changes in your patient’s endothelial glycocalyx – it also allows you to monitor the impact of your treatments, and the results are an asset for your overall plan of care for your patient.
It’s not too late to slow or even reverse the breakdown of your glycocalyx. GlycoCheck provides objective data and the solution to a healthy microvascular system that ultimately enhances whole-body health.
Lisa H. Sprague, MSS, PTA, LMT, is a licensed healthcare practitioner with over 35 years of experience. She has been in private practice since 1999 and specializes in frequency-based medicine and advanced wellness technologies. She is the owner of MV Solutions, 5633 Strand Blvd, Suite 311; Naples, FL 34110.
Visit: www.microvasculartesting.com and www.scienceandartofhealing.com and call 239.821.1223 to learn more.