Microplastics Found In Clogged Arteries, Could Raise Risk of Heart Attack: Study

From the great depths of the ocean to the top of Mount Everest, microplastics have been found almost everywhere on the planet. Now, scientists have discovered the tiny plastic particles inside our clogged arteries. The discovery was made by researchers from the University of Campania, who studied more than 200 people undergoing surgeries to clear a major artery in the neck. The study found that nearly 60 per cent of the patients had microplastics or even smaller nanoplastics in a main artery, as per Scientific American.

The study has been published in New England Journal of Medicine.

It said that patients who were found with microplastics in their arteries were 4.5 times more likely to experience a heart attack, a stroke or death in the approximately 34 months after the surgery than were those whose arteries were plastic-free.

"To date, our study is the first that associated the plastic contamination with human diseases," said Raffaele Marfella, lead author of the study.

"Our data must be confirmed by other studies and on larger populations. However, our study convincingly highlights the presence of plastics and their association with cardiovascular events in a representative population affected by atherosclerosis," he further said.

Paediatrician Dr Philip Landrigan, professor of biology at Boston College and director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health, said the study provided evidence that tiny plastics may be associated with cardiovascular disease outcomes in humans.

"Although we do not know what other exposures may have contributed to the adverse outcomes among patients in this study, the finding of microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque tissue is itself a breakthrough discovery that raises a series of urgent questions," Dr Landrigan wrote in the study.

In humans, microplastics have been found in the blood and in organs such as the lungs and placenta.

Dangers of microplastics

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the tiny particles of plastic less than 5 millimetres in size, have infiltrated our oceans, soil, and even the air we breathe.

Inside the human body, microplastics can invade individual cells and tissues in major organs, potentially interrupting cellular processes and depositing endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants and heavy metals.