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NEW DELHI: Small plastic particles present in the environment can enter parts of the body, including key blood vessels, and cause cardiovascular complications, according to a new study.
Researchers at Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania in Naples, Italy, enrolled 257 patients who underwent surgery to remove plaque or fatty deposits in the carotid artery, arteries present on the side of the neck that supply blood to the brain.
The carotid arteries that are present on the side of the neck can become clogged due to fat deposition, as can the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Surgery is needed to remove these plaques and reduce the narrowing and therefore the risk of cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks and strokes.
According to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), of 257 patients undergoing surgery, microplastics (particles smaller than 5 mm) and nanoplastics or MNPs (particles smaller than 1,000 nanometers) were found in plates taken from 150 patients ( 58 %) and 31 of them (12%) also had a measurable amount of polyvinyl chloride in the carotid plaque.
“Patients with evidence of MNP were younger; more likely to be male; less likely to have hypertension; more likely to have diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dyslipidemia; more likely to smoke; and had higher creatinine values than those without evidence of plastics in excised plaque; other clinical variables appeared to be similar in the two groups,” says the NEJM study.
Once the presence of plastics was confirmed, the researchers followed the patients for 34 months to record cardiovascular complications.
The researchers found that patients in whom MNPs or small plastic particles were detected within the plaques were 4.5 times more likely to suffer a non-fatal heart attack, stroke or death from any cause than those in whom they were not detected. these substances.
Researchers at Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania in Naples, Italy, enrolled 257 patients who underwent surgery to remove plaque or fatty deposits in the carotid artery, arteries present on the side of the neck that supply blood to the brain.
The carotid arteries that are present on the side of the neck can become clogged due to fat deposition, as can the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Surgery is needed to remove these plaques and reduce the narrowing and therefore the risk of cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks and strokes.
According to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), of 257 patients undergoing surgery, microplastics (particles smaller than 5 mm) and nanoplastics or MNPs (particles smaller than 1,000 nanometers) were found in plates taken from 150 patients ( 58 %) and 31 of them (12%) also had a measurable amount of polyvinyl chloride in the carotid plaque.
“Patients with evidence of MNP were younger; more likely to be male; less likely to have hypertension; more likely to have diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dyslipidemia; more likely to smoke; and had higher creatinine values than those without evidence of plastics in excised plaque; other clinical variables appeared to be similar in the two groups,” says the NEJM study.
Once the presence of plastics was confirmed, the researchers followed the patients for 34 months to record cardiovascular complications.
The researchers found that patients in whom MNPs or small plastic particles were detected within the plaques were 4.5 times more likely to suffer a non-fatal heart attack, stroke or death from any cause than those in whom they were not detected. these substances.