Plastic trash photographed on January 2, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico, at a market that no longer provides plastic bags to carry goods. Photographed on January 2, 2020.Reuters/Gustavo Graf

Tiny pieces of plastic stuck in the fatty deposits lining human arteries may be linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and death, Italian researchers reported Wednesday.

Of 304 patients who underwent a procedure to remove a major artery in the neck, 58% had microscopic and nanoscale “jagged” pieces of plastic, such as polyethylene and chlorine-containing polyvinyl chloride, in the plaque on the blood vessel lining. Found it, the doctor said. Reported by Raffaele Marfera of the University of Campania in Naples and colleagues.

Read: Consumer Reports finds ‘widespread’ presence of plastic in food

After taking into account a person’s other risk factors, researchers found that people with plastic particles in their carotid artery plaques had a 4.5 risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke or dying in the next three years. I found it to be twice as expensive.

Researchers found that patients with microplastics and nanoplastics in their plaque tissue also had higher levels of inflammatory proteins known to be involved in atherosclerosis and heart failure. That’s what it means.

“Polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, in various forms, are used in a wide range of applications, including the production of food and cosmetic containers and water pipes,” the authors write. In a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, they noted that such microplastics have been found in drinking water, a wide range of foods, cosmetics, and the air.

Read: Trader Joe’s soups recalled because they may contain hard plastic

Previous studies have detected different types of microplastics and nanoplastics in multiple tissues, including the colon, liver, spleen, lymph node tissue, and placenta. Animal studies have shown that these plastics can cause toxic effects.

Although the new study can’t prove that plastic caused adverse events in patients, Dr. Philip Landrigan of Boston University, who was not involved in the study, wrote in an editorial that the tiny particles could be linked to cardiovascular disease in humans. They wrote that this was the first study to link outcomes. It was attached to the report.

The discovery of microplastics and nanoplastics in dental plaque is a “groundbreaking discovery,” Landrigan wrote.

Among the questions it raises, he says, are whether exposure should be considered a cardiovascular risk factor and how exposure can be reduced.

In its 2022 report on dietary and inhalation exposure to small plastic pieces, the World Health Organization found overwhelming agreement that plastics do not belong in the environment and that steps should be taken to reduce exposure. It pointed out.

“The low cost and convenience of plastics is deceptive,” Landrigan says. “In fact, they mask major harms, such as the potential contribution of plastics to outcomes related to atherosclerotic plaques.”