Blood plastic levels linked to weaker heart pumping in older adults
Blood polystyrene remained linked to heart pumping function after adjustment for other factors in an observational study of older adults without major coexisting illnesses.
Limit: Plastic accumulation in participants’ heart muscle was not measured
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers conducted an observational study in older adults without major coexisting illnesses, measuring blood levels of polystyrene and polyethylene, two plastics, and heart function by ultrasound. They assessed ejection fraction, the share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber pushes out with each beat. Both plastics were higher in participants with an ejection fraction below 50% than in those at or above 50%. Polystyrene remained associated with ejection fraction after adjustment for body measurements and metabolic factors.
In separate experiments, human AC16 heart muscle cells grown in the lab accumulated tiny particles of both plastics and developed stress in mitochondria, the structures that supply cells with energy. The plastics produced different changes in mitochondrial function and gene activity.
Why it matters
The work raises the question of whether the type of plastic exposure matters when assessing heart vulnerability in later life.
Caveats
The observational findings cannot establish that plastics caused poorer heart function. The laboratory experiments used cells, not people, and the human findings concern older adults without major coexisting illnesses.
- Polystyrene
- Polyethylene
- Mitochondrial fission and fusion
- Mitochondrial protein import
- Left ventricular systolic impairment
- Humans
The paper
University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"
Cardiovascular Research, Oct 27, 2026
