Experts Available to Discuss Implications of Study Showing Microplastics in Carotid Artery Contributing to Stroke and Heart Attack Risk

Researchers from Italy have reported a disturbing finding: not only do some patients with carotid stenosis have evidence of microscopic particles from environmental plastics in their atherosclerotic plaque, but also these people are more likely to experience an adverse cardiovascular event – stroke or heart attack – than those without the particles.

Even more disturbing, the study found that for those who had microplastic in the plaque buildup of their arteries,  the risk of heart attack, stroke or death was four-and-a-half times higher than in those whose plaque didn’t contain plastic,

The particles can be both inhaled and ingested from a variety of sources and get into the circulatory system and tissue, with their study suggesting that nanoplastics, in particular, may gravitate to sites of atherosclerosis. Other studies, they add, have shown evidence of plastic particulates in the liver, placenta, breast milk, urine, and blood.

Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Colum Amory, M.D., director, Stroke Services and professor of neurology, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine says, “The study looks to have been excellently conducted and while it does not show how the presence of the microplastics increased the risk of stroke or heart attack, it provides clinicians an understanding of the impact of these plastics on our health. Additional studies are warranted to prove the causational effect of the microplastics, source(s) of their presence and how we can mitigate this risk.”

Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Chief of Cardiology Brett Sealove, M.D., adds, “the omnipresence of plastics in our daily lives has prompted extensive research into the potential dangers of their disposal. Specifically, this study aimed to investigate the three-year Cardiovascular outcomes in individuals undergoing carotid endarterectomy, a surgical procedure for those at high risk for adverse cardiovascular events, whose atheromatous plaques had the presence of microplastics and/or nanoplastics (MNP) versus those who did not.”

Hackensack Meridian vascular neurologists and cardiovascular specialists are available to discuss this study, potential next steps and actions and the need for more research. To book an interview contact: [email protected] or [email protected].