Nitric Oxide – The Cure for Cardiovascular Disease

February 5, 2026Blog

Here we are again in February 2026, where in the U.S., we recognize February as Heart Health Month every year. Every February for the past decade or more I have written on cardiovascular disease being the number one killer of men and women worldwide. I keep hoping this statistic changes based on all the new research and innovations in cardiovascular disease. However, it appears to be getting worse instead of better.

A Century of Research—and Still the Leading Killer

Did you realize that cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1921 when it surpassed infectious diseases as primary cause of death? For more than 100 years there have been rising rates of coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Let’s just think about how absurd this statistic is. Since 1949, The American Heart Association has funded more than $6 billion in research on cardiovascular disease. Each year the National Institutes of Health fund more than $2.5 billion in research dedicated to cardiovascular disease. Over the past 100 years, the U.S. government and non-profits have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in research to find a cause and cure for cardiovascular disease. Yet here we are today with really no progress and I would argue things have gotten worse.

In the United States alone, the costs for treating cardiovascular disease (CVD) are massive and rising, with annual expenditures in 2020-2021 estimated around $417.9 billion to over $444 billion. In the 1990s, spending was significantly lower, increasing from $212 billion in 1996 to $320 billion in 2016. Costs include health services, medicines, and lost productivity. Forecasts predict that by 2050, the cost of cardiovascular disease and stroke could increase by 535%. Are you kidding me? The annual costs of treating cardiovascular disease are more than what has been invested in research over the past 100 years. It does not take a mathematician or accountant to determine that what we have been doing is not working.

The Real Cause of Heart Disease: Endothelial Dysfunction

What have we learned from all that research? We have learned that cholesterol does not cause heart disease but rather we have learned that endothelial dysfunction is what leads to cardiovascular disease. Endothelial dysfunction is when the cells that line all blood vessels no longer are able to perform their job. Their job is to regulate vascular tone controlling blood flow and circulation, keeping immune cells and platelets from sticking to the inside of blood vessels and migrating outside the lumen of the blood vessels. The endothelial cells produce molecules that regulate all of this. One of the most important molecules produced by our endothelial cells is nitric oxide. In fact, today nitric oxide deficiency is referred to as endothelial dysfunction.

We have also learned mechanistically what causes cardiovascular disease and therefore can effectively diagnose it, treat it, reverse it, cure it and prevent it.

How Nitric Oxide Loss Leads to Cardiovascular Disease

That is why nitric oxide is the cure for cardiovascular disease. When we look at the hallmarks of cardiovascular disease, we always see four things:

Ischemia or hypoxia. Fancy words for reduced blood flow or reduced oxygenation of tissue. This is obvious in heart disease where the blood vessels of the heart become narrow restricting blood flow. This causes shortness of breath and chest pain called angina and sometimes that pain can radiate down left arm or up into the jaw. Classic symptoms of heart attack.
The lining of the blood vessels become sticky like Velcro and immune cells and platelets begin to stick compromising the flow of blood. This inflammation causes the barrier function of the endothelial cells to become compromised. This is when immune cells migrate across and cause foam cells, plaque starts to form and the underlying smooth muscle begins to hypertrophy.
Oxidative stress. The increased inflammation causes a lot of oxidative stress and reduce the efficiency of the mitochondria, the energy producing organelles of the cell. Oxygen radicals very severely reduce nitric oxide production and nitric oxide signaling, further decreasing blood flow and increasing inflammation.
Immune dysfunction. Our immune cells think our blood vessels have an injury or infection and begin to create local inflammation and generate oxygen radicals and create more inflammation to kill any infection and to initiate a wound healing response. This system goes uncontrolled since it is a feed forward self perpetuating mechanism.

Every one of those 4 hallmarks and processes occur as a result of the loss of nitric oxide production. Furthermore every one of those steps leads to a further suppression of endothelial nitric oxide production. Notice no where in this process is cholesterol involved and therefore should not be treated since it has no effect on the mechanism of disease or the outcome of the disease. The solution is actually very simple. We must administer nitric oxide and allow the body to naturally produce it once again.

What Suppresses Nitric Oxide Production

In fact, all of the risk factors that lead to a rapid onset and progression of cardiovascular disease are things that disrupt endogenous nitric oxide production. Those are lack of physical exercise, diet high in sugar and carbohydrates, smoking, poor oral hygiene, sleep apnea and mouth breathing, antacids, high blood pressure, etc.

All is not lost over the past 100 years and hundreds of billions of dollars spent on research. The solution is very clear and well defined. Nitric oxide is the cure for cardiovascular disease. You must stop doing the things that lead to a loss of its production:

Stop eating sugar, simple carbohydrates and foods, gummies, chews that contain sugar.
Stop using antacids
Stop using fluoride toothpaste
Stop using antiseptic mouthwash
Stop smoking

How to Restore Nitric Oxide and Reverse Heart Disease

You must begin doing the things that are proven to promote, stimulate and activate endogenous nitric oxide production:

Start exercising daily
Start getting 20-30 minutes of direct sunlight every day
Start intermittent fasting (18 hours) every day
Start eating high protein, quality fat meals with green leafy vegetables
Start nasal, deep breathing exercises daily
Start taking a nitric oxide product that provides nitric oxide gas, improves endothelial nitric oxide production and restores the oral microbiome

These are very simple steps that can completely address the root cause of the number one killer of men and women. This process works. I practice these 11 steps every day for the past decade or more. At the chronological age of 52, I have the vascular biological age of 29. My arteries are clean and clear, highly reactive to normal stimuli, no inflammation, blood labs perfect and I feel great. Big pharma and medicine try to make things more complicated than they are so they can put you on medication for the rest of your life and not make you healthier so you don’t need medication.

These are fundamental truths and anyone can adopt these and get healthier. So let’s not let another February go by without making some simple changes and stop this more than 100 year trend of cardiovascular disease killing more people than anything else. Our health is our greatest asset. Invest in yours today.

You can find my nitric oxide products at www.n1o1.com. Use coupon code NSB10 for a discount.

About Dr. Nathan S. Bryan

Dr. Nathan S. Bryan is a biochemist and physiologist that has more than 25 years of basic science and clinical research. His many seminal discoveries have resulted in dozens of issued U.S. and International patents. He is an international expert in nitric oxide and molecular medicine. Dr. Bryan is an innovator and successful entrepreneur whose product technology is based on his discoveries to restore nitric oxide production and signaling. This content is not intended to replace medical advice from a physician.

See and follow Dr. Bryan across his platforms to learn more about nitric oxide science, access educational resources, and stay updated on his latest research and insights.

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