MONDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) — New research is illuminating the details of cholesterol’s dangerous effect on human health.

Researchers at Michigan State University found that cholesterol build-up lying on artery walls can crystallize into a solid, expand and then burst, sending material shooting into the bloodstream.

That seo services chain of events kick-starts the body’s natural clotting process, essentially shutting down the artery, explained lead researcher George Abela, a professor in the university’s department of medicine and chief of the department’s cardiology section.

Abela compared the cholesterol crystallization to putting a plastic bottle of water into a freezer. The frozen water expands, pushing its way out of the bottle — or breaking the bottle altogether.

“This really drives the point home how important cholesterol control can be,” Abela said in a prepared statement.

The findings appear in the September issue of Clinical Cardiology.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about cholesterol.