A recent study has found that tiny pieces of plastic, known as micronanoplastics, are not just floating in the air, water, and food we consume—they are also showing up in the main arteries in our necks that carry blood to the brain.
These arteries, called carotid arteries, are vital for brain health. The study discovered that the highest levels of these plastic particles were found in the fatty deposits, or plaque, inside the arteries of people who had suffered strokes or related symptoms.
Micronanoplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic. Microplastics are smaller than 5 millimeters, roughly the size of a pencil eraser. Nanoplastics are even tinier—smaller than 1,000 nanometers. For comparison, a single strand of human hair is about 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide.
These plastic particles come from the breakdown of larger plastic items in the environment. Over time, things like plastic bags and bottles fall apart in oceans, rivers, soil, and even the air, turning into these tiny particles. People can breathe them in or swallow them through food and water.
Scientists already knew that these particles can travel through our bodies. Past research found them in organs such as the lungs and liver, and even in breast milk, urine, and blood. More recently, they’ve also been found in brain tissue. This latest study now adds the carotid arteries to the list of places where these plastics can be found.
The study was led by Dr. Ross Clark, a vascular surgeon and assistant professor at the University of New Mexico. His team looked at tissue samples from 48 people.
These included 35 people who had died and had no plaque in their arteries, six people who had a lot of plaque but no symptoms, and seven people who had both plaque and symptoms such as a stroke, a mini-stroke, or a short-term loss of vision caused by blocked arteries.
The results were surprising. In people with healthy arteries, only about 57 micrograms of plastic were found in each gram of artery tissue. In people with plaque but no symptoms, the amount was much higher—about 895 micrograms per gram.
But in those who had both plaque and stroke-related symptoms, the amount was nearly 2,900 micrograms per gram of tissue. That’s more than 50 times the amount found in healthy arteries.
Even more interesting, the study found that these plastic particles might affect how the body responds to plaque buildup. They looked at stem cells that help keep plaque stable and found differences in activity depending on how much plastic was present.
They also noticed changes in white blood cells, which help the body fight inflammation. In people with more plastic in their arteries, these cells didn’t work as well at calming inflammation. This could mean that the presence of plastic might make artery plaque more dangerous and harder for the body to control.
Experts not involved in the study, like Dr. Kimberly Kicielinski from the Medical University of South Carolina, say the findings raise concerns. She pointed out that the immune system seems to behave differently when plastic is present in the tissue.
It’s still not clear whether the plastic causes these problems, or if it simply ends up where problems already exist. Dr. Clark agrees more research is needed to understand whether these plastic particles are directly causing harm or just showing up in areas of damage.
What’s most troubling is that it’s nearly impossible to avoid these plastic particles. They are already all around us and are continuing to build up in the environment. Even if we stopped making new plastic today, the plastic already out there would keep breaking down into smaller pieces and getting into our bodies.
The study doesn’t yet prove that micronanoplastics directly cause strokes or artery disease. But the fact that they are found in such important parts of the body—and in higher amounts where disease is worse—makes it clear that we need to learn more.
In summary, this study found that people who have had strokes or similar conditions have much higher amounts of tiny plastic particles in the fatty deposits of their neck arteries. These plastics may interfere with how the body manages inflammation and plaque stability, possibly making strokes more likely.
While more research is needed, this is one more sign that plastic pollution could be harming human health in ways we are only beginning to understand.
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