🌊 Today, we’re talking about a hot topic: microplastics and how they might be messing with our hearts. Buckle up, because this study is a game-changer!

Background Check: What Are Microplastics and Nanoplastics (MNPs)? You’ve probably heard about the plastic pollution crisis, right? Well, microplastics and nanoplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that have made their way into our environment, including our bodies. And guess what? They might be more than just an eyesore. Recent studies have hinted that they could be linked to cardiovascular disease, but we’ve been missing the concrete evidence.

The Study: What Went Down? Researchers decided to get to the bottom of this plastic predicament. They gathered a bunch of folks who were undergoing a procedure called carotid endarterectomy. That’s just a fancy way of saying they were getting their carotid arteries cleaned out because of some blockages. These patients had asymptomatic carotid artery disease, meaning they weren’t showing any symptoms.

What Did They Find? Okay, here’s where it gets juicy. The researchers analyzed the gunk they scraped out of these arteries, looking for any signs of microplastics. And guess what they found? Plastic, baby! Lots of it. They used fancy techniques like pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (say that three times fast) to identify the plastic bits. They even found them chilling with the plaque and causing trouble.

The Nitty-Gritty Details So, what kind of plastic are we talking about here? Polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride were the main culprits. These little buggers were hanging out in the artery walls, causing a ruckus. And get this, when they looked under the microscope, they saw these plastic particles cozying up with the immune cells in the plaque. Not a pretty sight.

The Big Reveal: What Does It Mean? Now, for the million-dollar question: Does all this plastic spell trouble for our hearts? According to the study, heck yeah! Patients who had microplastics in their artery plaque were way more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or even kick the bucket compared to those with clean arteries. Yikes!

The Bottom Line So, what’s the takeaway here? Well, it looks like microplastics aren’t just a problem for the planet—they could be a major health hazard too. While more research is needed to fully understand the extent of the danger, it’s clear that we need to start taking plastic pollution seriously.

Marfella R, Prattichizzo F, Sardu C, Fulgenzi G, Graciotti L, Spadoni T, D’Onofrio N, Scisciola L, La Grotta R, Frigé C, Pellegrini V, Municinò M, Siniscalchi M, Spinetti F, Vigliotti G, Vecchione C, Carrizzo A, Accarino G, Squillante A, Spaziano G, Mirra D, Esposito R, Altieri S, Falco G, Fenti A, Galoppo S, Canzano S, Sasso FC, Matacchione G, Olivieri F, Ferraraccio F, Panarese I, Paolisso P, Barbato E, Lubritto C, Balestrieri ML, Mauro C, Caballero AE, Rajagopalan S, Ceriello A, D’Agostino B, Iovino P, Paolisso G. Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events. N Engl J Med. 2024 Mar 7;390(10):900-910. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2309822. PMID: 38446676.