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The plastic bottle in your car, the takeaway container holding your lunch, and the synthetic shirt in your washing machine may leave behind particles too small to see.
Scientists already know these microplastics can enter the human body. Now, a new study is raising fresh questions about whether they could also be linked to heart disease.
For people in Cyprus, the study hits particularly close to home. Bottled water, takeaway containers, coffee pods, plastic cutting boards, and synthetic clothing are all part of everyday life
According to one article in Time magazine, researchers examined blood taken from the arteries supplying the hearts of 61 patients in Italy. Microplastics were detected in 84% of those being treated for a serious heart attack.
By comparison, plastics were found in 40% of patients with long-term heart disease and 32% of those whose coronary arteries appeared normal.
Heart attack patients also had higher concentrations and a wider variety of plastics in their blood. In some cases, the highest levels were found close to the artery blockage itself.
The findings, published in the European Heart Journal, add to earlier research that found microplastics inside the fatty plaques that build up in blood vessels.
However, the researchers were careful not to claim that plastic particles caused the heart attacks. The study was small and only showed a connection between the presence of plastics and heart disease. Larger and longer studies will be needed to determine whether microplastics directly damage the heart.
Smoking and air pollution also appeared to matter. Smokers were six times more likely to have plastics detected in their blood. Every patient who both smoked and lived with higher air pollution had detectable microplastics, compared with about one in eight of those who did neither.
Researchers believe tiny plastic particles may enter the body through the air we breathe, the food and water we consume, and possibly cigarette smoke. The particles may contribute to inflammation, although scientists are still trying to understand exactly what they do once inside the body.
For people in Cyprus, the study hits particularly close to home. Bottled water, takeaway containers, coffee pods, plastic cutting boards, and synthetic clothing are all part of everyday life, especially during a long, hot summer when a plastic water bottle is rarely far away.
The findings are not a reason to panic or throw every plastic item out of the kitchen. Scientists still cannot routinely test how much plastic a person carries in their body, and there is currently no treatment for removing it.
The basic advice for protecting the heart also remains unchanged: stop smoking, control blood pressure, lower harmful LDL cholesterol, exercise, and follow a balanced diet.
Still, the research offers another reason to cut down on unnecessary plastic where practical, choosing reusable glass or stainless-steel bottles, avoiding excessive single-use packaging, and not treating disposable plastic as an unavoidable part of daily life.
As the European Society of Cardiology noted, the study does not prove cause and effect. But it does suggest that what ends up in the environment may eventually find its way much closer to the heart than most of us would like.
*Source: Time Magazine
