Cardiovascular Disease: Discover One Of The Biggest Ever Breakthroughs In The Treatment Of Heart Disease, Stroke And High Blood Pressure

More people live to enjoy a long and healthy old age in Japan than in any other country in the world - a fact that has long intrigued scientists.

Now we can reveal the amazing health secret thought to be responsible for the remarkable longevity of the Japanese. The scientific data is so compelling that you simply cannot afford to ignore it, particularly if you suffer from cardiovascular disease.

New research has identified a potent chemical found in natto, a fermented soya bean product, which may be the key to conquering cardiovascular disease - which remains the biggest killer in the West.

This has lead to the development of a natural remedy called Nattokinase, which has the ability to dissolve the harmful blood clots implicated in cardiovascular disease and strokes. It can also lower blood pressure.

The growing problem of cardiovascular disease prompted urgent research
Each year, 250,000 people in Britain suffer from heart attacks and 125,000 die from coronary artery disease. Many tens of thousands more suffer from angina - acute pain in the chest on exertion due to narrowing and blockages in the blood vessels that supply the heart.

Overall, cardiovascular disease (this includes heart attacks and strokes) accounts for four out of every ten deaths. A heart attack or angina episode can occur when a blood clot (or thrombus) blocks an artery and reduces the supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. A stroke occurs when a clot travels to the brain, where it then blocks a blood vessel.

More than 20 years ago, Dr Hiroyuki Sumi, a Japanese researcher at Chicago University, embarked on an ambitious project to search for a natural substance that might dissolve blood clots. As part of their research, the team examined 173 different food preparations from around the world to see if they might hold the key.

Natto closely mimics an enzyme in the body that destroys blood clots
Eventually, Dr Sumi and his team isolated an enzyme in natto (derived from a process of fermentation involving soya beans and a beneficial bacteria called Bacillus natto). They found that it alone possessed, to an astonishing degree, the properties they were looking for.

This enzyme had the ability not only to dissolve blood clots quickly and efficiently but also prevented them from forming in the first place. Dr Sumi named the enzyme 'nattokinase' (which means 'enzyme in natto').

Blood clots (thrombi) are clumps of a naturally-occurring protein called fibrin which can accumulate in a blood vessel. The human body produces several enzymes that promote the formation of blood clots (clotting is a vital mechanism that prevents haemorrhaging), but only one that dissolves them.

This enzyme, known as plasmin, diminishes with age and this is a contributory factor in deaths from heart disease. Nattokinase has been found to closely resemble plasmin.

'Nattokinase is superior to conventional clot-dissolving drugs'
The pharmaceutical industry long ago saw the opportunity for massive profits in developing 'clot busting' drugs, and there are now a number of them in use. They are known as tissue plasminogen activators (t-PAs) and include the drugs activase, urokinase and streptokinase.

Unfortunately, t-PAs have their drawbacks. They are costly and short-lived, losing effectiveness within 4 to 20 minutes after being taken. They work only when administered intravenously, so they cannot be given to a heart attack or stroke victim until medical help arrives. This delay can greatly compromise their life-saving potential.

Possible adverse reactions to t-PAs include bleeding, mild allergic reactions, fever and chills, nausea and/or vomiting, transient low or high blood pressure, tachycardia, back pain and acidosis.

Given these limiting factors, it is no wonder there has been so much interest in finding a safer, natural alternative.

Blood clots destroyed in just under 18 hours with Nattokinase
Dr Sumi has demonstrated that when nattokinase is dropped onto an artificial blood clot and left to stand at body temperature, the clot gradually dissolves and disappears completely within 18 hours. Dr Sumi said that it showed 'a potency matched by no other enzyme.' 1, 2

In human trials undertaken by researchers from three organisations - JCR Pharmaceuticals, Oklahoma State University, and Miyazaki Medical College, in Miyazaki, Japan - 12 healthy Japanese volunteers aged between 21 and 55 were given 200 grams of natto daily. 3

Fibrinolytic (pertaining to or causing the breaking up of blood clots) activity was then measured through a series of blood tests. The tests confirmed that natto generated a heightened ability to dissolve blood clots.

Dr Martin Milner of the Center for Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, is enthusiastic about the clinical use of natto: 'Natto and nattokinase represent the most exciting new development in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular-related diseases that I have come across in my career.'

Nattokinase can prevent arteries from hardening and narrowing
According to Dr Milner, nattokinase works by fighting blood clots in several different ways. In addition to its plasmin-like properties, it also enhances the body's own production of plasmin.

'In some ways, nattokinase is superior to conventional clot-dissolving drugs,' Dr Milner says. 'T-PAs often fail simply because a stroke or heart attack victim's arteries have hardened over the long term and are beyond the point where they can be treated by any other clot-dissolving agent. Nattokinase, however, can help prevent that hardening in the first place with an oral dose of as little as 100mg a day.'

Nattokinase remains active in the body for 8 to 12 hours. It not only dissolves existing blood clots, but prevents blood coagulation as well and may be a valuable precautionary measure in the prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is associated increasingly with long-haul travel. However, research has yet to confirm this.

...Remarkable properties for lowering blood-pressure
In addition to its anti-clotting factors, nattokinase has been found to reduce blood pressure. It contains substances that inhibit a naturally-occurring enzyme that causes blood vessels to narrow and blood pressure to rise.

In studies undertaken by the Miyazaki Medical College and the Kurashiki University of Science and Arts in Japan, five patients with high blood pressure each took nattokinase equal to 200g of natto for four days.

In four out of the five volunteers, systolic blood pressure fell on average by almost 11 per cent and diastolic blood pressure dropped by an average of about 10 per cent. 4

What to take for best results
The suggested dose for nattokinase is one capsule in the morning, one capsule in the afternoon and two capsules at bedtime. The product may be taken with or without food.

Contraindications: Nattokinase should be avoided by those on blood-thinning drugs and those with bleeding disorders.

1. Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke with Potent Enzyme that Dissolves Deadly Blood Clots in Hours. Health Sciences Institute USA, March 2002.
2. Sumi H. Interview With Doctor of Medicine Hiroyuki Sumi. Japan Bio Science Laboratory Co. Ltd.
3. Sumi H, Hamada H, Mihara H. A novel strong fibrinolytic enzyme (nattokinase) in the vegetable cheese 'natto.' International
5. Journal of Fibronolysis and Thrombolysis. Abstracts of the ninth international congress on fibrinolysis, Amsterdam, 1988, Vol.2, Sup.1:67.