Scientists find nine kinds of microplastics in human hearts
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Imagine eating a bowl of fish soup at a high-end restaurant. It tastes mind-numbingly good. The staff at the restaurant woke up super early to get the freshest sea produce at the fish market. And one of the best culinary chefs overlooked the preparation of the fish soup you’re slowly devouring.
Not to burst your bubble, but what if we told you that even though the fish you’re consuming has been washed, cleaned, and deboned with high precision, it possibly contains up to 47 particles of microplastics?
The annual human microplastic consumption ranges anywhere between 39,000 and 52,000 particles, depending on age and sex. We have established that there are discernable quantities of microplastics, their size ranging between 1µm and 5mm, that have made their way into our bloodstream, brain, semen, and food.
And now, in a pilot study, it has been found that microplastics are in heart tissues as well.
As per the American Chemical Society's official release, the researchers analyzed the heart tissues of 15 people before and after they underwent heart surgery.
Plastic hearts
Using a laser direct infrared chemical imaging system and scanning electron microscopy for their investigation, the team found that microplastics existed in the tissues taken both prior to and post-surgery.
The researchers also collected blood samples from half of the participants, both before and after the surgery. Nine types of microplastics were detected in blood samples, both pre-and postoperative. The maximum diameter of the microplastic was 184 μm.
In the blood samples, the type and diameter distribution of microplastics showed a change in size after the surgical procedure, suggesting that microplastics were introduced to the body during surgery as well.
Nine kinds of plastics found
However, the researchers noted that microplastics were not universally present in all tissue samples. Nine types of particles were found across five types of tissues with the largest measuring 469 μm in diameter.
It’s estimated that one truck full of plastic garbage is dumped into the ocean every minute and there are approximately 14 million tons of microplastics sitting on the ocean floor. And these numbers are increasing, even though efforts are being made to reduce global plastic consumption.
“Further research is needed to examine the impact of surgery on microplastic introduction and the potential effects of microplastics in internal organs on human health,” noted the researchers in the study.
The study was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Study abstract:
Microplastics have been detected in human stool, lungs, and placentas, which have direct exposure to the external environment through various body cavities, including the oral/anal cavity and uterine/vaginal cavity. Crucial data on microplastic exposure in completely enclosed human organs are still lacking. Herein, we used a laser direct infrared chemical imaging system and scanning electron microscopy to investigate whether microplastics exist in the human heart and its surrounding tissues. Microplastic specimens were collected from 15 cardiac surgery patients, including 6 pericardia, 6 epicardial adipose tissues, 11 pericardial adipose tissues, 3 myocardia, 5 left atrial appendages, and 7 pairs of pre- and postoperative venous blood samples. Microplastics were not universally present in all tissue samples, but nine types were found across five types of tissue with the largest measuring 469 μm in diameter. Nine types of microplastics were also detected in pre- and postoperative blood samples with a maximum diameter of 184 μm, and the type and diameter distribution of microplastics in the blood showed alterations following the surgical procedure. Moreover, the presence of poly(methyl methacrylate) in the left atrial appendage, epicardial adipose tissue, and pericardial adipose tissue cannot be attributed to accidental exposure during surgery, providing direct evidence of microplastics in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Further research is needed to examine the impact of surgery on microplastic introduction and the potential effects of microplastics in internal organs on human health.
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