Plastic in artery plaque tracked with 4.5 times the risk

Researchers at the University of Campania in Naples examined plaque removed during carotid artery surgery from 257 patients, testing the tissue directly for microplastics and nanoplastics, then followed those same patients afterward to see who went on to have a heart attack, a stroke, or died.

Polyethylene turned up in the plaque of 150 patients, just over 58 percent of the group, with polyvinyl chloride found in a smaller subset. Over roughly 34 months of follow-up, patients whose plaque contained microplastics were about 4.5 times more likely to suffer a heart attack, a stroke, or die than patients whose plaque was plastic-free.

Tissue samples from patients with detectable plastic also showed more markers of inflammation, suggesting a plausible biological pathway rather than a coincidental finding. The study followed one patient group at one set of hospitals and could not prove the plastic itself caused the extra risk rather than simply marking a more inflamed, higher-risk plaque; larger studies in different populations are still needed to confirm the link.

Plastic in the plaque tracked with real cardiovascular danger.