A study by the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science & Technology of people who have undergone heart surgery has highlighted the presence of microplastics in many heart tissues.
A study conducted by Le microplastics they are fragments of plastic less than 5 millimeters wide or the size of a pencil eraser. Scientists now find them everywhere: food, water, air… And even in some parts of the human body, including, and this is the latest discovery, in Heart. A pilot study conducted by researchers at theEnvironmental Science & Technology dell’American Chemical Society on people who have undergone heart surgery, in fact, it highlights its presence in many heart tissueswhere they would have been introduced right during the surgical procedures.
The research, funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, analyzed the tissues of 15 patients undergoing heart surgery, considering the samples from different sections of the organ and in some cases also evaluating the venous blood taken before and after the operation.
The team analyzed the samples with direct infrared laser imaging and identified particles consisting of eight types plastic, including polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride and poly(methyl methacrylate). This technique detected tens of thousands of individual pieces of microplastic in most of the tissue samples, although the quantities and materials varied among the participants. Also blood samples they contained plastic particles, but after surgery their average size decreased and the particles came from the most diverse types of plastic.
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Although the study had a small number of participants, the researchers say they have provided preliminary evidence that various microplastics can accumulate and persist in the heart and its innermost tissues. And they add that the findings show how “invasive medical procedures are an overlooked route of exposure to microplastics, providing direct access to the bloodstream and internal tissues.” Now, however, further studies are needed to fully understand the effects of microplastics on the cardiovascular system and their prognosis after heart surgery.
Nurse Times editorial team
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