The C Reactive Protein Inflammation Marker
Why It's Not A Very Good Measure
Of Silent Inflammation In The Human Body

When the C Reactive Protein Inflammation marker was discovered over 50 years ago, it was found to be a protein synthesized in the liver in response to acute inflammation.

The problem is that the original assay was not very sensitive, so by the time you could measure CRP, the patient was already ill.

Then, a few years ago, researchers developed a more sensitive test that could detect much lower levels of CRP. This was called the highly sensitive CRP (hsCRP).

There was initial excitement that mildly elevated levels of hsCRP might accurately reflect silent inflammation in the human body rather than acute infection.

In fact, some studies showed that elevated hsCRP was a better predictor of heart disease risk than high cholesterol levels. And since, over 50% of people who have heart disease have normal cholesterol levels, the addition of hsCRP as an independent risk factor for heart disease was an important addition to risk assessment.

So what's the problem? Recent studies have not confirmed these initial findings, mainly because many other things can increase your hsCRP level. In particular, being overweight, having type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure. This makes the ability of hsCRP to predict heart disease, much less accurate.

Additionally, though it is a good marker for inflammation, there is no evidence that lowering your hsCRP level will actually decrease silent inflammation in your body.

For example, aspirin is a great anti-inflammatory drug, but it will not lower hsCRP levels.

Vitamin E will lower the hsCRP level, but it does not significantly decrease inflammation or prevent cardiovascular mortality.

In spite of the above problems, the hsCRP still offers some measure of inflammation that may move you to action to live a healthier lifestyle.

A hsCRP < 1 is ideal. Between 1 and 3 is considered "average risk" and hsCRP levels > 3 dramatically increase your risk of heart disease, even if you have normal cholesterol levels.

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