Plastic Raises Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke, Premature Death: Study

Inhaling plastic dramatically raises a person’s risk of heart attack, stroke, and early death, according to Italian researchers. Through specialised tests, the researchers found harmful microplastics mixed with chlorine in the blocked arteries of over half the people in their study (150 out of 312 people). These people were 4.5 times more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or die in the next three years due to the microplastics disrupting their body’s fat processing. Professor Philip Landrigan said their arteries contained around 21.7 micrograms of the most common plastic (polyethylene) and 5.2 micrograms of the third most common plastic (polyvinyl chloride), most likely through eating and breathing....