We all have microplastics in our bodies, but if they show up in carotid artery tissues, patients are nearly two times as likely to experience a stroke, heart attack or related death, according to a study published March 7 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers observed the removed plaque from more than 300 patients who were undergoing blockage surgery for asymptomatic carotid artery disease and examined them for presence of the particles. They also looked for other biomarkers and signs that the patient was experiencing some inflammation.
They found micro-polyethylene — one of the most widely used plastics in the world — in 58.4% of patients and polyvinyl chloride in 12%.
And while microplastics have been found in other areas of the human body in previous studies including in blood and lungs, Raffaele Marfella, MD, PhD, the lead author of the study and a cardiology researcher at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli in Italy, told CNN that it "is the first that associated the plastic contamination with human diseases."