Italian study links microplastics in blood to severe heart attacks

A collaborative Italian study of 61 patients, published in the European Heart Journal, found that micro‑ and nanoplastics were present in the coronary blood of 84% of those who suffered an acute myocardial infarction, compared with 40% of patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and 32% of individuals with normal coronary arteries. The particles were most often polyethylene, a polymer common in everyday packaging.

The researchers also reported that smokers were about six times more likely to have detectable microplastics, and that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was associated with higher plastic levels. Patients with higher plastic concentrations showed elevated inflammatory markers such as TNF‑α and IL‑6, suggesting a possible link between plastic exposure, inflammation and cardiovascular events.

Led by Professor Emanuele Barbato of Sapienza University of Rome, together with colleagues from the University of Verona and the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, the study cautions that the findings demonstrate a strong association, not causation, between environmental plastic exposure and heart attacks, and call for further research into environmental risk factors for cardiovascular disease.