For years, researchers didn't know what cholesterol's role in causing heart attacks is, until an MSU professor realized it's as simple as a bottle of water that's frozen and cracked.

"It cuts through membranes, like shards of glass in the artery," said George Abela, a professor in the MSU Department of Medicine, whose findings are published in the September issue of the medical journal "Clinical Cardiology."

"That's why you think it can create such a big ouch."

Examining the process of heart attacks for about 10 years, Abela found the key was cholesterol located in the wall of an artery. Similar to water when it freezes, it solidifies and expands. When cholesterol changes from a liquid to a solid, it crystallizes, and these crystals can cut through artery tissue.

This allows blood to escape the arteries and clot, causing a heart attack, he said.

Having high cholesterol, high blood pressure and changes in body acidity are factors that cause the cholesterol to solidify and crystallize, Abela said. These factors were already known in the medical community, but his research helps understand the pathology of a heart attack better, Abela said.

"This understanding of this process will help us design a process and diagnostic tools," Abela said. "So now we know what to go looking for."

Previously, it was believed that heart attacks are triggered by a traumatic event or stress, but that is only true for 20 percent of heart attacks.

"Although it does happen, it is the minority," Abela said. "The majority come without a trigger.

"We wanted to find out, why does a heart attack suddenly happen out of the blue?"

This research does not just apply to the heart, but can apply to arteries all over the body, such as the legs, kidneys and the brain, said Ronald Vanderlaan, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and cardiologist. This is groundbreaking information that will be helpful in the prevention of heart attacks, he said.

"Once we define a mechanism we can stop it from happening," Vanderlaan said.

This information will also help in the management and finding of a possible cure for heart disease, said Andrew Prieto, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine.

"This may be the magic bullet to be able to cure this condition," Prieto said.

Abela said he was pleased that his work was being published, and is glad he gets to share its success. He said it could begin making a difference in people's lives.

"It's exciting, because that's what we do, we work hard," Abela said. "Sometimes you are lucky and things go your way, and most of the time they don't."

This is the most publicized of Abela's work, but the study has proved his clout as an established researcher, Vanderlaan said. His most recent work will be viewed around the country and is a landmark for understanding the process of heart attacks.

"This is a major contribution," Vanderlaan said. "The kind that will be in textbooks."