Everyday microplastics could be fueling heart disease

Microplastics—tiny particles now found in food, water, air, and even human tissues—may directly accelerate artery-clogging disease, and new research shows the danger may be far greater for males. In mice, environmentally realistic doses of microplastics dramatically worsened plaque buildup, altered key vascular cells, and activated harmful genes linked to inflammation and atherosclerosis, all without changes to weight or cholesterol.