Microplastics in blood linked to higher heart attack risk in new study

Patients who suffered serious heart attacks had significantly higher levels of micro- and nanoplastic particles in their blood compared to healthy individuals and those with chronic ischemic heart disease, according to a study led by researchers at Sant'Andrea University Hospital and the University of Campania in Italy. The study builds on a 2024 finding that patients with microplastics in arterial plaque faced higher risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death within several years. The new research analyzed blood samples from heart attack patients, healthy volunteers, and chronic ischemic heart disease patients, finding the highest microplastic concentrations in the acute heart attack group. "These findings do not prove that microplastics cause heart attacks, but they reveal a strong association between environmental exposures, microplastics in the blood, and cardiovascular disease," said lead author Emanuele Barbato, director of the Cardiology Unit at Sant'Andrea University Hospital. Decades of plastic waste breaking down in the environment has left synthetic polymer particles, fragments too small to see, pervasive in air, water, soil, and food. Researchers have detected microplastics in human lungs, brains, hearts, and placentas. The mechanisms of harm remain under investigation, but researchers hypothesize that the particles trigger inflammatory responses and that embedded petrochemical compounds interfere with biochemical processes. The study adds to a growing body of evidence linking plastic pollution exposure to human health risks, though causal pathways remain to be established.