Inhaling plastic: Smokers face 6x higher micro-plastic levels

Researchers have found in heart patients that they have significantly higher concentrations of micro-plastics in their blood circulation compared to healthy individuals or other patients. 

A study regarding this factors observe that certain factors, such as smoking and regular exposure to air pollution - increase risk of high micro-plastics incorporation in the blood-circulation-system up to six times.

Elevated levels of micro-plastics were detected in almost all the patients who smoked regularly as well as inhaled polluted air. 

The findings of the study, led by Dr Pasquale Paolisso of Sant'Andrea Hospital at Sapienza University of Rome, were recently published in the European Heart Journal.

While these tiny plastic particles are ubiquitous in modern environment and previously found in various human organs, specific data was lacking about their presence in coronary arteries through environmental factors like smoking and air pollution. 

As part of the study, researchers collected blood samples from the coronary arteries of 61 patients, including heart attack victims, chronic heart disease patients, and individuals with healthy arteries. 

Results show that micro-plastic and nano-plastic particles were present in 84 per cent of heart attack sufferers, while 40 per cent among chronic heart disease patients and just 32 per cent among individuals with healthy blood vessels. 

Senior study author Dr Emanuele Barbato clarified that while the findings do not directly prove micro-plastics cause heart attacks, they establish a strong link between environmental pollution, blood micro-plastics, and cardiovascular disease. Researchers believe smoking and air pollution facilitate the entry of micro- and nano-plastics into the bloodstream through the lungs.

Writing in an editorial for the journal, expert Andreas Daiber from Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany noted that plastic pollution could represent an underestimated cardiovascular risk factor, adding that the study provides early clinical evidence linking plastic particles to acute cardiac events.

The findings carry serious implications for Bangladesh, where tobacco consumption and air pollution remain severe challenges.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, nearly 20 million adults - roughly 32.5 per cent of adult males - smoke tobacco in Bangladesh. Combined with severe air pollution levels in major urban centers like Dhaka, millions of Bangladeshi smokers face heightened vulnerability to micro-plastic accumulation in their blood vessels and subsequent cardiac risks.