Doctors found tiny nanoplastics in people's arteries. Their presence was tied to a higher risk of heart disease. [View all]

NBC March 6, 2024, 5:40 PM EST

People with microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque lining a major blood vessel in their neck may have a higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death, new research suggests.

The findings, published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, are the first time scientists have linked these tiny plastic particles, the result of degraded plastic pollution, to cardiovascular disease.

Microplastics are defined as particles smaller than 5 millimeters, and nanoplastics are far smaller — so tiny that they can be seen only with specialized microscopes. In recent years, their ubiquity has become undeniable: They have been found in fresh snowfall in Antarctica and at the depths of the Marianas Trench, as well as in human blood; breast milk; urine; and placental, lung and liver tissue.

Dr. Raffaele Marfella — a cardiology researcher in the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli’s department of advanced medical and surgical sciences in Naples, Italy, and the lead author of the new study — said that he and his colleagues initiated the study to look for new risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/microplastics-nanoplastics-plaque-carotid-artery-heart-disease-rcna142067