There are microplastic particles in the tea you ordered at a cafe, in water, food, in our blood vessels, and even in the placentas of pregnant women.
Every week we inhale as much microplastic as there is on a credit card.
In 2022, scientists first found traces of microplastics in human blood, and in the same year, research results from scientists from New Zealand showed that microplastics were found for the first time in fresh Antarctic snow.
A year later, research published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology showed that microplastics were also found in human heart tissue.
We can no longer avoid it, so it is very important to understand how the presence of these foreign microparticles affects our body.
In most cases, scientists have studied the impact of microplastics in laboratory conditions; in organ replicas and in mice, to get an impression of what effect it might have on the human body.
They found that microplastics can cause inflammation and oxidative stress in heart cells, weaken the heart, alter heart rate, and damage the hearts of mice.
But the particle concentrations in these studies may not reflect how much we are exposed to microplastics during our daily activities.
Therefore, research conducted in humans is of great importance, writes Science Alert.
PVC in the artery
In a new study, experts in Italy found pieces of plastic in fatty deposits surgically removed from patients with blocked arteries and found that they may be linked to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and death.
"Of 304 patients who had a major artery removed from their neck, 58% had microscopic and nanoscopic pieces of sharp-edged plastic in the plaque covering the blood vessel. These include polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)," said cardiologist Raffaele Marfella from the University of Campania in Naples.
Polyethylene is the type of plastic from which most disposable bags and bottles are made.
PVC is used to make water pipes, plastic bottles, flooring, etc.
Twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack
Marfela and his colleagues wondered what the risk of stroke, heart attack, and death was in patients with and without plaque microplastics.
In the study, they observed 304 patients and 257 were followed over a period of 34 months.
They found that 58% of them had measurable amounts of polyethylene in their arterial plaque and 12% had PVCs.
Furthermore, they found that patients with microplastics in their plaque were twice as likely to experience a stroke, non-fatal heart attack, or death than those who did not have these tiny particles in their plaques.
The scientists also observed the "serrated" pieces through a more powerful microscope - in macrophages (immune cells) and in fat deposits.
It is important to note that this observational study did not prove with 100% certainty that it was microplastics in plaque that caused a higher risk of stroke or heart attack, but only an observed correlation.
It did not take into account other risk factors for cardiovascular disease: such as smoking, physical inactivity and air pollution.
“This raises a number of pressing questions.”
“While we don’t know what other factors may have contributed to the poor health outcomes in patients, the discovery of microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque tissue is in itself revolutionary and raises a number of pressing questions,” says epidemiologist J. Landrigan of Boston College.
The research Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. / Albania.com
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