Could microplastics affect heart health?
Latest research shows that patients who suffer heart attacks have more micro and nanoplastics in their blood.
When we talk about plastic and health, the conversation usually revolves around the stomach and digestion. But microplastics don't stay in the gut. Nanoplastics are small enough to pass through the lungs or gut into the bloodstream, where they can travel throughout the body, and they have been found in the blood vessels supplying the heart.
The first big warning came in 2024. A New England Journal of Medicine study, researching plastic particles in artery plaque, found a link with a combined risk of heart attack, stroke or early death. Patients with microplastics in their artery plaque were 4.5 times more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke, or early death in the following years. However, correlation should not be conflated with causation, and this is not to say that the particles directly caused the heart attacks, nor can it be taken as proof that plastic caused these outcomes.
Now, a new study adds to the picture. Italian researchers sampled blood from the vessels supplying the heart in 61 patients. Plastics were detected in 84% of heart attack patients, compared with 40% of those with chronic ischemic heart disease and 32% of those with normal coronary arteries. The study found associations to smoking and air pollution, but it did not confirm that either exposure caused the particles to be present.
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It's important to be honest about the limits. This was a small study, and it shows an association, not proof of cause. Scientists are still working out how plastics might harm the heart. Proposed routes include abnormal heart rhythms, damage to red blood cells and blood vessels, increased blood clotting, and scarring.
The science is still young, but plastic may be a cardiovascular issue, not just an environmental one. Researchers are investigating an interesting possible link, but it is still too early to confirm a connection.
So what can you do? You can't remove plastic from your life, but you can cut exposure. Using glass containers instead of plastic, especially in the microwave, and choosing loose-leaf tea over teabags are personal ways to reduce plastic contact. Cardiologists also stress the basics: exercising regularly, eating a heart-healthy diet, keeping blood pressure and cholesterol under control, and not smoking remain important for heart health.
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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk
Image: apples clear plastic bag - Image by Sophia Marston on Unsplash (ST ref: 1171)
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