CRP Concentrations Correlate With the Severity of Atherosclerosis
C-Reactive Protein is a marker for chronic inflammation in the body. Many experts believe that inflammation is a major contributor to heart disease. Make sure that CRP levels are checked with your cholesterol if you are at risk for heart disease.
Eur Heart J 2000;21:958-960,1000-1008 Dr. Mira-Christine Tataru from Herz- und Gefassklinik, in Bad Neustadt/Saale, and colleagues analyzed the relationship between plasma C-reactive protein levels and the severity of atherosclerosis in 1,112 male and 299 female survivors of acute myocardial infarction and in 326 male and 138 female age-matched controls without coronary disease. Confirming prior studies, Dr. Tataru and colleagues report that plasma C-reactive protein levels increase with age and are higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. Additionally, they report that C-reactive protein concentrations are higher in coronary heart disease patients than in control patients. Among survivors of acute myocardial infarction, C-reactive protein levels correlate with the angiographically detected severity of coronary heart disease. It is also noteworthy, the authors say, that C-reactive protein levels were higher not only in patients with clinically manifest atherosclerosis, but also in patients with preclinical stenoses of the pelvic and leg arteries as well as the extracranial arteries supplying the brain, or aneurysm of the abdominal aorta.