Nattokinase Supports Women’s Heart Health Outcomes: Review

A newly-published review concluded that nattokinase is particularly well-suited to support cardiovascular health and fitness benefits in women.

The authors discuss cardiovascular risk factors throughout a woman’s life, such as during reproduction, perimenopause, and menopause; biological and clinical risk factors like inflammation, hypertension, adverse lipid profile and thrombosis/hemostatic factors; and the intersectionality of pathways promoting cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. CVD is shaped by dynamic changes in lipid metabolism, endothelial function, inflammation, and thrombosis throughout a woman’s life.

“Despite clear evidence that traditional risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity confer equal or greater relative risk in women compared with men, women are less likely to receive timely diagnosis, risk stratification, or guideline-recommended preventive therapies,” the authors wrote. “As a result, women often accumulate a greater lifetime burden of modifiable cardiovascular risk.”

Nattokinase targest pathways implicated in women’s cardiovascular risk, including impaired fibrinolysis, endothelial dysfunction, and blood pressure dysregulation.

The majority of studies assessed in the review used NSK-SD, a nattokinase manufactured by JBSL-USA, and the authors state that “Emerging mechanistic and clinical evidence indicates that NSK-SD supports cardiovascular health through multiple pathways, including enhanced fibrinolysis, modulation of coagulation factors, inhibition of platelet aggregation, improvements in endothelial function, reductions in blood pressure, and attenuation of inflammatory signaling. Human studies further suggest beneficial effects on lipid profiles, vascular function, and microcirculation.”

“The evidence presented makes a compelling case for dietary supplement brands to formulate with NSK-SD, the most-studied nattokinase with strong clinical results for women concerned about heart health,” said Vincent Hackel, president and CEO of JBSL-USA.

Nattokinase is an enzyme that was discovered in the Japanese traditional fermented food natto. It is naturally produced during the fermentation process of soybeans by Bacillus subtilis natto. Across more than 50 studies, NSK-SD has been shown to support blood clot reduction indirectly and directly, support healthy blood pressure, improve measures of circulation, modulate inflammation, and benefit cardiovascular function in other ways.