--- title: "Microplastics Found Clogging Human Arteries" description: "A new study linked the presence of microplastics in artery-clogging plaque to a higher risk of heart disease and even death." date: "2024-03-09" modified: "2024-03-09" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/microplastics-found-clogging-human-arteries" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "cardiovascular disease" - "health" - "heart health" - "microplastics" --- # Microplastics Found Clogging Human Arteries ![A new study linked the presence of microplastics in artery-clogging plaque to a higher risk of heart disease and even death.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* A [new study]() has linked the presence of microplastics in artery-clogging plaque to a higher risk of heart disease and even death. From [remote regions of Antarctica]() and layers of [sediment untouched by humans]() to [human hearts]() and even [newborn human babies](), microplastics are [everywhere](). But while it stands to reason that microscopic shards of chemical-laced fossil fuel polymers finding their way into [every imaginable corner of life]() probably wasn't great, there hadn't yet been an established link to its measurable impacts on the human body. Until now, that is. Published this week in *The New England Journal of* *Medicine*, the "landmark" study, conducted by a team of Italian researchers, is the first of its kind to establish a connection between the presence of microplastics in the human body and its impact on human health. According to the research, this was also the first time that microplastics were discovered in artery-clogging plaque at all. "This is a landmark trial," Robert Brook, a physician-scientist at Wayne State University who studies the relationship between cardiovascular disease and the environment, [told *Nature*](). (Brook was not involved in the study.) "This will be the launching pad for further studies across the world to corroborate, extend, and delve into the degree of the risk that micro and nanoplastics pose." The study followed 257 participants, all of whom had fatty plaques removed from their carotid arteries — in short, the blood vessels in the neck that carry blood between the head and the heart — between the years 2019 and 2020. Polyethylene, the most widely-used plastic in the world, was detected in the "carotid artery plaque of 150 patients," according to the study. "Electron microscopy revealed visible, jagged-edged foreign particles among plaque macrophages," it continues, "and scattered in the external debris." The scientists continued to follow the patients for 34 months, ultimately finding that those with microplastics present in their arteries were *nearly five times* more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke, and in the most serious cases, even death. "It's extraordinary," cardiologist Eric Topol, who was not involved in the study, [told *USA Today*]() of the findings. "I'm a cardiologist for three decades plus and I never envisioned we'd have microplastic in our arteries and its presence would accelerate arteriosclerosis." To be clear, this study is still observational. It doesn't prove a solid correlation between the presence of microplastics and incidents of cardiovascular emergency or death, though some doctors believe that microplastic-induced inflammation — [long-term inflammation]() is considered a major driver of cardiovascular disease — may play a role. "This is as good a smoking gun for plastics as we've seen," Topol told *USA Today*. "They basically connected the dots — the presence of the plastic in the arteries, profound inflammation and then events such as stroke, heart attack and death. They had it all." To that end, researchers across the board seem to concur that the results of this study are more than enough to warrant further research into the influence of microplastics on the human body, not to mention further grappling with questions of humanity's relationship with petroleum products and their impact on the environment around us — and, it seems, their impact on our bodies in turn. "Although we do not know what other exposures may have contributed to the adverse outcomes among patients in this study," Philip Landrigan, a Boston College pediatrician and epidemiologist, wrote in [an editorial]() that accompanied the study's release, "the finding of microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque tissue is itself a breakthrough discovery that raises a series of urgent questions." **More on microplastics:** [*Scientists Puzzled to Find Plastic Fragments Inside Human Hearts*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()