Heart-attack patients show higher blood microplastics

A new study has found that patients who suffered a serious heart attack had significantly higher levels of microplastics and nanoplastics in their blood compared to other patients, adding to growing evidence linking environmental plastic pollution to cardiovascular health risks. The research, published in the European Heart Journal on July 14, 2026, also identified smoking and long-term exposure to air pollution as strong predictors of having these tiny plastic particles in the bloodstream.

The study involved 61 Italian patients undergoing coronary angiography, a procedure to examine the heart's arteries. Participants were categorized into three groups: those receiving emergency treatment for a major heart attack known as a STEMI, those with chronic coronary syndromes, and control patients with normal coronary arteries. Researchers took blood samples from the coronary arteries supplying the heart as well as from peripheral blood vessels.

Analysis revealed microplastics and nanoplastics in 84 percent of the heart attack patients. In contrast, the particles were detected in only 40 percent of patients with chronic heart disease and 32 percent of the control group. The heart attack...