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What is CRP ?
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a
substance found in the blood which can be measured on a simple blood test. It is a marker for
inflammation and has been found to be
helpful in determining heart attack risk. High CRP level are thought
to correlate with elevated amounts of inflammation in the wall of
the arteries. Inflammation
is one of the steps that can lead to damage to the walls of the arteries
and can result in heart attack or stroke. Having an elevated CRP does not
mean that the arteries are necessarily damaged, but it does mean that you
are at a greater risk than someone with a normal CRP.
CRP range
| 0.0 - 0.2 |
Lowest Risk |
| 0.7 - 1.1 |
Low Risk |
| 1.2 - 1.9 |
Moderate Risk |
| 2.0 - 3.8 |
High Risk |
| 3.9 - and
above |
Highest Risk |
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* Note - Other inflammatory
processes such as arthritis and infections can sometimes elevate the
CRP and cause confusion when interpreting the results. Also, while
the highest numbers on the table are values to "3.9 and
above" it is not unheard of to see CRP's of 20 or 30. These
numbers are not cause for alarm but should be discussed with your
physician. |
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Should I have my CRP level
checked?
There is an old saying in
science " Correlation does not prove causation". What this means is
that a correlation
between two variables does not automatically imply that one causes the
other. For
example, if A goes up when B goes up, A could be causing B to
increase, or B could be causing A to increase, or some third factor
C could be causing both A and B to increase.
In the case of CRP levels,
even though high CRP levels are associated with increased rates of
heart disease, that does not mean that CRP causes heart disease. It
is quite possible that heart disease may cause changes that lead to
an elevated CRP or something else may cause heart disease and also
cause the CRP to become elevated. This is important to understand
because it affects our decisions. If heart disease or "Something
else" is making the CRP go up rather than the other way around, it
then makes no sense to try and lower your CRP. Until this issue is
clarified, routine measurement of CRP levels is not recommended for
most individuals.
What do I do if my CRP level is
elevated?
There is some limited evidence that
lowering CRP actually can lead to lower rates of heart disease. A
recent study (
New England Journal of Medicine Nov, 2008) done to examine this
issue demonstrated a reduced risk of heart disease among patients
with high CRP but normal cholesterol levels when they were treated
with a cholesterol lowering drug known as Crestor. Statin drugs like
Crestor, Zocor Lipitor, etc. have been known for some tie to lower
CRP levels, but it wasn't known if their effect on lowering heart
attack rates was due to their ability to lower cholesterol or the
combined effect of lowering cholesterol and CRP until this study was
done.
While this is intriguing, there are
several things to keep in mind. It is only one study and it needs to
be verified by other researchers. In addition, the study was
sponsored by the company that makes Crestor and they stand to
benefit substantially if doctors begin treating a whole new group of
patients with statin drugs like Crestor. Because of these concerns
routine treatment of elevated CRP levels with statin drugs or any
other kind of medication or nutritional intervention is not
currently recommended.
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