Beijing, China

A recent study conducted by Chinese researchers discovered microplastics in blood clots surgically removed from arteries in the heart and brain, as well as deep veins in the lower legs.

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The journal eBioMedicine published the research, which involved thirty participants. The Chinese researchers also discovered a possible correlation between the amount of microplastics in blood clots and the severity of the condition, much like a prior study involving 257 patients which discovered that the presence of microplastics in plaques increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

The research included thirty patients who had suffered from heart attacks, strokes, or deep vein thrombosis, a disorder in which clots develop in deep veins, usually in the legs or pelvis, and required surgery to remove the blood clots.

Patients averaged 65 years old and had a variety of health histories and behaviors, including smoking, alcohol usage, high blood pressure, and diabetes. They utilised plastic items on a daily basis and were about evenly distributed across rural and urban locations.

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Chemical examination revealed microplastics of varied shapes and sizes in 24 of the 30 blood clots tested, with variable amounts.

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The same plastics that were found in the Italian-led research of artery plaques were also found during testing: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is frequently used in construction, and polyethylene (PE), which is commonly used in bottles and shopping bags. 

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The clots were found to include polyamide 66, a common plastic used in textiles and fabric, according to the recent study. PE accounted for 54% of the tested particles, making it the most prevalent plastic of the 15 kinds discovered by the research.

The researchers hypothesized that microplastics might somehow be clumping together in blood to worsen clotting because they also discovered that patients with higher levels of microplastics in their blood clots also had higher D-dimer levels than patients without microplastics found in thrombi.

Further research is necessary to fully understand this, though, as this study only looked at potential linkages rather than causes because it did not assess the amount of microplastics in the blood of the patients.

 "These findings suggest that microplastics may serve as a potential risk factor associated with vascular health. Future research with a larger sample size is urgently needed to identify the sources of exposure and validate the observed trends in the study," the scientists wrote.

(With inputs from agencies)