7 Things To Know About Arterial Plaque Reduction

RESEARCH-BASED HEART HEALTH EDUCATION SINCE 2021

CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH & EDUCATION

7 Things Every American Over 40 Should Know About Arterial Plaque Reduction

If you're over forty, you're probably keeping an eye on a number — blood pressure, cholesterol, maybe both. Maybe you're taking fish oil, beet root, or red yeast rice to support. But here's what almost nobody tells you: The thing behind most cardiovascular deaths isn't a number in your blood. It's the buildup in the artery wall itself. Blood pressure and cholesterol are readings about that buildup. They're not the buildup. Which raises a question worth sitting with: is anything you're taking actually aimed at the arterial buildup or just at the readings?

Read below to understand what arterial plaque is, which supplements target which parts of the cardiovascular system, and a Japanese enzyme that’s been shown to support your body’s ability to break down the buildup.

Title

1. Your Blood Pressure Can Be Perfect — But Your Arteries May Not Be

A lipid panel measures what's moving through your blood. Cholesterol is important, yes, and the treatment works. But a panel doesn't measure what's already lodged in the artery wall. Those are two different things.

You can have a good panel and real plaque at the same time. I see it every week — and so does the research.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology imaged more than 4,100 adults aged 40 to 54. These individuals were non-smokers with great readings. Half of those “healthy” adults with optimal blood pressure had significant plaque in their arteries.

That's the trap. You can do everything the readings ask of you and still have buildup quietly narrowing the wall. Good numbers aren't the same as clean arteries — they're just the numbers.

50%

Of adults aged 40–54 with optimal cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar had significant arterial plaque on imaging

Fernández-Friera et al., 2017 · JACC · PESA study · 4,100+ participants

This study raises the question: if the number can be fine while the wall isn't, which one is actually predicting what happens to you?

We have a decent answer.

A 2023 JAMA Cardiology analysis pooled 23 trials and 7,407 patients. Each 1% greater reduction in coronary plaque burden was associated with about 25% lower odds of a major cardiac event.

That's an association measured between trial groups. It does not mean shaving 1% off your own plaque prevents a quarter of heart attacks. But it tells you where the risk actually sits.

Not in the number. In the artery wall.

Title

2. Fibrin Is The Scaffolding That Holds Arterial Plaque In Place

Most people picture plaque as grease in a pipe. It's closer to scaffolding.

Fibrin is the tough protein mesh your body uses to form clots. Inside the artery wall, that same mesh becomes a framework. LDL lodges in it. The buildup anchors to it. And it stays.

Now line up what's in your cabinet:

These aren't bad choices. Every supplement takes on a real issue affecting heart health. In fact, I recommend several of them.

But here’s the gap: none of them break down the fibrin holding plaque together.

Title

3. Your Body's Fibrin-Clearing Enzyme Slows Down After Forty

So if nothing in the cabinet was built to break fibrin down, what’s been breaking it down all this time?

You have. Your whole life.

Your body makes its own enzymes to break fibrin down — a cleanup crew that's been running your whole life.

But here’s the problem most doctors don’t pay attention to: your body’s fibrinolytic activity slows with age. Fibrin builds faster than it clears. The scaffolding stays up.

That's the part that matters about aging. Between 40 and 60, nothing new attacks you. Something that was protecting you gets slower.

And it's not the buildup sitting there that ends people — it's the day the cap over a deposit tears. Your body seals the tear the way it seals any wound: with fibrin. That clot closes the artery. That's the event everyone's actually trying to get ahead of.

Title

4. Nattokinase is one of the few compounds studied to break down fibrin

In 1980, a Japanese researcher named Hiroyuki Sumi screened 173 natural compounds looking for one that could do that job.

The one that stood out came from a food he'd eaten at breakfast his whole life — natto, fermented soybeans, on Japanese tables for a thousand years.

He named the enzyme nattokinase. His 1990 paper in Acta Haematologica showed that taken orally, nattokinase raised fibrinolytic activity in plasma.

Almost nothing on the supplement shelf works on fibrin. This is one of the few things that's been studied for it.

Title

5. Japan Has Consumed Natto Beans For Well Over 1,000+ Years

The Takayama Study followed more than 29,000 Japanese adults for roughly 16 years. The highest natto eaters had about 25% lower cardiovascular mortality than the lowest.

25%

Lower cardiovascular mortality among the highest natto consumers

Fernández-Friera et al., 2017 · JACC · PESA study · 4,100+ participants

That's observational. Natto eaters differ in other ways, and no study like this separates one enzyme from the whole diet around it. I don't call it proof.

But it's 29,000 people over 16 years, and it's where the clinical research went next.

Title

6. Clinical Trials Measured Plaque Directly — The Dose Decided Everything

First, Ren, 2017: a 36.6% reduction in measured carotid plaque after 26 weeks in the nattokinase group.

Then another retrospective study came out: Chen, 2022, in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine — the largest study on this enzyme to date. 1,062 adults, 12 months. Among the 683 with plaque measured, at about 10,800 FU per day:

Plaque area: −36%
Artery-wall thickness: −21.7%
LDL: −18.1%
Triglycerides: −15.7%

Then the finding that should decide what you buy: The group taking 3,600 FU a day showed no significant change.

10,800 FU/day — saw plaque reduce up to 36%

3,600 FU/day — no significant change in plaque

Chen et al., 2022 · Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine · Retrospective · 1,062 adults · 12 months

The 3,600 FU group had no significant change. Not a smaller result — no significant change in plaque, wall thickness, or lipids. Same enzyme. Same year. One-third the dose — and the results disappeared.

Title

7. Most Nattokinase Bottles Are Underdosed — And Cause No Significant Change

Look at a typical nattokinase bottle. 2,000 FU. Maybe 4,000 FU.

The dose that moved plaque was 10,800 FU. The dose that did nothing was 3,600 FU — still nearly double what's in most bottles.

So it goes like this. Someone reads about nattokinase. Buys what's in front of them. Takes it three months. Feels nothing. Decides it doesn't work.

The compound was right. The dose was never close.

Title

The Formula I Recommend (That I Couldn't Find Anywhere Else)

Valera Nattokinase exists because of that dose gap.

At 10,800 FU per serving — Valera’s nattokinase is in the range the research evaluated, not the range that showed nothing.

Their nattokinase softgels are enteric-coated. Nattokinase is an enzyme, and stomach acid breaks enzymes down. These softgels hold until they reach the intestine.

Plus 6 supporting co-factors for what nattokinase doesn't cover:

Vitamin K2 (MK-7) — helps direct calcium toward bone and away from arterial walls
CoQ10 — cellular energy in heart muscle
Turmeric — healthy inflammatory response
Olive leaf — vascular support
Bromelain — circulatory support
White willow bark — inflammation reduction

Valera isn't sold in stores or on Amazon. At 10,800 FU it costs several times what a 2,000 FU bottle costs to make, and retail shelves don't stock what they can't price against — so we sell it here and nowhere else.

It’s third-party lab tested. 90-day money-back guarantee.

TRY VALERA RISK FREE (BUY TWO GET ONE) →

What Patients Are Telling Me After Taking Valera

Title

"I’m a 62 year old male and I track my Blood Pressure every morning. I took Luma Nutrition Nattokinase for 6 months in 2025 and saw no change in my numbers. After 4 months of switching to this 10,800 FU dose my readings stabilized at 127/78 down from 155/95.

Valera also gave clear instructions on how and when to take it. Simple thing, but its important to me."

Title

"My brother had a heart scare at 54. I’m 67 now and since my last doctor visit in November 2025, my carotid plaque has not gotten any worse.

I like the full 10,800 FU dose and the supporting stack Valera gives too. My energy has been much better in 2026 and I don’t need afternoon naps as much anymore!"

Title

"At one point I was taking a cabinet's worth of heart supplements. I like Valera because the supporting factors have helped me replace four pills with just this one. I take less pills now and feel better than I ever have. I’ve saved cabinet space and money too."

SEE THE CLINICALLY BACKED FORMULA →

90-day money back guarantee · Free US shipping on all purchases TODAY ONLY

● IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Nattokinase supports your body's natural fibrinolytic activity. If you take a blood thinner — warfarin, Eliquis, Xarelto, Plavix, or daily aspirin — talk to your doctor before starting. Stop at least two weeks before any scheduled surgery. This notice is in bigger type than most companies use because we'd rather lose a sale than have someone hurt themselves.

Title

References

Chen H, et al. (2022). Front Cardiovasc Med, 9:964977. (Retrospective; author affiliations include Sungen Bioscience.)
Ren NN, et al. (2017). Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi, 97(26):2038-2042.
Nagata C, et al. (2017). Am J Clin Nutr, 105(2):426-431.
Sumi H, et al. (1990). Acta Haematologica, 84(3):139-143.
Fernández-Friera L, et al. (2017). J Am Coll Cardiol, 70(24):2979–2991.

The American Heart Health Journal

RESEARCH-BASED HEART HEALTH EDUCATION SINCE 2021

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, especially if you take a blood thinner or prescription medications.

RESEARCH-BASED HEART HEALTH EDUCATION SINCE 2021

CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH & EDUCATION

7 Things Every American Over 40 Should Know About Arterial Plaque Reduction

If you're over forty, you're probably keeping an eye on a number — blood pressure, cholesterol, maybe both. Maybe you're taking fish oil, beet root, or red yeast rice to support.

But here's what almost nobody tells you: The thing behind most cardiovascular deaths isn't a number in your blood. It's the buildup in the artery wall itself. Blood pressure and cholesterol are readings about that buildup. They're not the buildup. Which raises a question worth sitting with: is anything you're taking actually aimed at the arterial buildup or just at the readings?

Read below to understand what arterial plaque is, which supplements target which parts of the cardiovascular system, and a Japanese enzyme that’s been shown to support your body’s ability to break down the buildup.

Title

1. Your Blood Pressure Can Be Perfect — But Your Arteries May Not Be

A lipid panel measures what's moving through your blood. Cholesterol is important, yes, and the treatment works. But a panel doesn't measure what's already lodged in the artery wall. Those are two different things.

You can have a good panel and real plaque at the same time. I see it every week — and so does the research.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology imaged more than 4,100 adults aged 40 to 54. These individuals were non-smokers with great readings. Half of those “healthy” adults with optimal blood pressure had significant plaque in their arteries.

That's the trap. You can do everything the readings ask of you and still have buildup quietly narrowing the wall. Good numbers aren't the same as clean arteries — they're just the numbers.

50%

Of adults aged 40–54 with optimal cholesterol and blood pressure had significant arterial plaque on imaging

Fernández-Friera et al., 2017 · JACC · PESA study · 4,100+ participants

This study raises the question: if the number can be fine while the wall isn't, which one is actually predicting what happens to you?

We have a decent answer.

A 2023 JAMA Cardiology analysis pooled 23 trials and 7,407 patients. Each 1% greater reduction in coronary plaque burden was associated with about 25% lower odds of a major cardiac event.

That's an association measured between trial groups. It does not mean shaving 1% off your own plaque prevents a quarter of heart attacks. But it tells you where the risk actually sits.

Not in the number. In the artery wall.

Title

2. Fibrin Is The Scaffolding That Holds Arterial Plaque In Place

Most people picture plaque as grease in a pipe. It's closer to scaffolding.

Fibrin is the tough protein mesh your body uses to form clots. Inside the artery wall, that same mesh becomes a framework. LDL lodges in it. The buildup anchors to it. And it stays.

Now line up what's in your cabinet:

These aren't bad choices. Every supplement takes on a real issue affecting heart health. In fact, I recommend several of them.

But here’s the gap: none of them break down the fibrin holding plaque together.

Title

3. Your Body's Fibrin-Clearing Enzyme Slows Down After Forty

So if nothing in the cabinet was built to break fibrin down, what’s been breaking it down all this time?

You have. Your whole life.

Your body makes its own enzymes to break fibrin down — a cleanup crew that's been running your whole life.

But here’s the problem most doctors don’t pay attention to: your body’s fibrinolytic activity slows with age. Fibrin builds faster than it clears. The scaffolding stays up.

That's the part that matters about aging. Between 40 and 60, nothing new attacks you. Something that was protecting you gets slower.

And it's not the buildup sitting there that ends people — it's the day the cap over a deposit tears. Your body seals the tear the way it seals any wound: with fibrin. That clot closes the artery. That's the event everyone's actually trying to get ahead of.

Title

4. Nattokinase Is One Of The Only Compounds Studied To Break Down Fibrin

In 1980, a Japanese researcher named Hiroyuki Sumi screened 173 natural compounds looking for one that could do that job.

The one that stood out came from a food he'd eaten at breakfast his whole life — natto, fermented soybeans, on Japanese tables for a thousand years.

He named the enzyme nattokinase. His 1990 paper in Acta Haematologica showed that taken orally, nattokinase raised fibrinolytic activity in plasma.

Almost nothing on the supplement shelf works on fibrin. This is one of the few things that's been studied for it.

Title

5. Japan Has Consumed Natto Beans For Well Over 1,000+ Years

The Takayama Study followed more than 29,000 Japanese adults for roughly 16 years. The highest natto eaters had about 25% lower cardiovascular mortality than the lowest.

25%

Lower cardiovascular mortality among the highest natto consumers

Nagata et al., 2017 · Takayama Study · 29,000+ adults · ~16 years · Observational

That's observational. Natto eaters differ in other ways, and no study like this separates one enzyme from the whole diet around it. I don't call it proof.

But it's 29,000 people over 16 years, and it's where the clinical research went next.

Title

6. Clinical Trials Measured Plaque Directly — The Dose Decided Everything

First, Ren, 2017: a 36.6% reduction in measured carotid plaque after 26 weeks in the nattokinase group.

Then another retrospective study came out: Chen, 2022, in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine — the largest study on this enzyme to date. 1,062 adults, 12 months. Among the 683 with plaque measured, at about 10,800 FU per day:

Plaque area: −36%
Artery-wall thickness: −21.7%
LDL: −18.1%
Triglycerides: −15.7%

Then the finding that should decide what you buy: The group taking 3,600 FU a day showed no significant change.

10,800 FU/day — saw plaque reduce up to 36%

3,600 FU/day — no significant change in plaque

Chen et al., 2022 · Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine · Retrospective · 1,062 adults · 12 months

The 3,600 FU group had no significant change. Not a smaller result — no significant change in plaque, wall thickness, or lipids. Same enzyme. Same year. One-third the dose — and the results disappeared.

Title

7. Most Nattokinase Bottles Are Underdosed — And Cause No Significant Change

Look at a typical nattokinase bottle. 2,000 FU. Maybe 4,000 FU.

The dose that moved plaque was 10,800 FU. The dose that did nothing was 3,600 FU — still nearly double what's in most bottles.

So it goes like this. Someone reads about nattokinase. Buys what's in front of them. Takes it three months. Feels nothing. Decides it doesn't work.

The compound was right. The dose was never close.

Title

The Formula I Recommend (That I Couldn't Find Anywhere Else)

Valera Nattokinase exists because of that dose gap.

At 10,800 FU per serving — Valera’s nattokinase is in the range the research evaluated, not the range that showed nothing.

Their nattokinase softgels are enteric-coated. Nattokinase is an enzyme, and stomach acid breaks enzymes down. These softgels hold until they reach the intestine.

Plus 6 supporting co-factors for what nattokinase doesn't cover:

Vitamin K2 (MK-7) — helps direct calcium toward bone and away from arterial walls
CoQ10 — cellular energy in heart muscle
Turmeric — healthy inflammatory response
Olive leaf — vascular support
Bromelain — circulatory support
White willow bark — inflammation reduction

Valera isn't sold in stores or on Amazon. At 10,800 FU per dose, it costs several times what a 2,000 FU bottle costs to make, and retail shelves don't stock what they can't price against — so we sell it right here on this page and nowhere else.

It’s third-party lab tested. 90-day money-back guarantee.

TRY VALERA RISK FREE (BUY TWO GET ONE) →

What Patients Are Telling Me After Taking Valera

Title

"I’m a 62 year old male and I track my Blood Pressure every morning. I took Luma Nutrition Nattokinase for 6 months in 2025 and saw no change in my numbers. After 4 months of switching to this 10,800 FU dose my readings stabilized at 127/78 down from 155/95.

Valera also gave clear instructions on how and when to take it. Simple thing, but its important to me."

Title

"My brother had a heart scare at 54 . I’m 67 now and since my last doctor visit in November 2025, my carotid plaque has not gotten any worse.

I like the full 10,800 FU dose and the supporting stack Valera gives too. My energy has been much better in 2026 and I don’t need afternoon naps as much anymore!"

Title

"At one point I was taking a cabinet's worth of heart supplements. I like Valera because the supporting factors have helped me replace four pills with just this one. I take less pills now and feel better than I ever have. I’ve saved cabinet space and money too."

SEE THE CLINICALLY BACKED FORMULA →

90-day money back guarantee · Free US shipping on all purchases TODAY ONLY

● IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Nattokinase supports your body's natural fibrinolytic activity. If you take a blood thinner — warfarin, Eliquis, Xarelto, Plavix, or daily aspirin — talk to your doctor before starting. Stop at least two weeks before any scheduled surgery. This notice is in bigger type than most companies use because we'd rather lose a sale than have someone hurt themselves.

Title

References

Chen H, et al. (2022). Front Cardiovasc Med, 9:964977. (Retrospective; author affiliations include Sungen Bioscience.)
Ren NN, et al. (2017). Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi, 97(26):2038-2042.
Nagata C, et al. (2017). Am J Clin Nutr, 105(2):426-431.
Sumi H, et al. (1990). Acta Haematologica, 84(3):139-143.
Fernández-Friera L, et al. (2017). J Am Coll Cardiol, 70(24):2979–2991.

The American Heart Health Journal

RESEARCH-BASED HEART HEALTH EDUCATION SINCE 2021

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, especially if you take a blood thinner or prescription medications.

Valera Nattokinase

Nattokinase 10,800 FU (Clinical Dose) • 90-Day Guarantee

SEE VALERA

Valera Nattokinase

Nattokinase 10,800 FU

SEE VALERA