NEW YORK: High-protein diets may help people lose weight and build muscle, but there is a downside to it is a greater heart attack risk.

Researchers now report that high-protein diets boost artery-clogging plaque.

The research in mice showed that high-protein diets spur unstable plaque — the kind most prone to rupturing and causing blocked arteries.

More plaque buildup in the arteries, particularly if it”s unstable, increases the risk of a heart attack.

“There are clear weight-loss benefits to high-protein diets, which has boosted their popularity in recent years,” said senior author Babak Razani, associate professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

(With input from agencies)