MSU researcher links cholesterol crystals to cardiovascular attacks

A research team led by George Abela, chief of the cardiology division in MSU’s College of Human Medicine, has shown that cholesterol crystals can disrupt plaque in a patient’s cardiovascular system, causing a heart attack or stroke.

Abela and his team found that, as cholesterol builds up along the wall of an artery, it crystallizes from a liquid to a solid state and then expands. "As the cholesterol crystallizes, two things can happen," Abela said. "If it’s a big pool of cholesterol, it will expand, causing the ‘cap’ of the deposit to tear off in the arterial wall. Or the crystals, which are sharp, needle-like structures, poke their way through the cap covering the cholesterol deposit, like nails through wood."

The crystals then work their way into the bloodstream. It is the presence of this material, as well as damage to an artery, that disrupts plaque and puts the body’s natural defense mechanism – clotting – into action, which can lead to dangerous, if not fatal, clots.

More at http://news.msu.edu/story/6099/.