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Inflammation marker C-reactive protein key in heart disease risk

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., M.S.
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Chronic, low-grade inflammation is now being considered by an ever-increasing number of scientists as a major cause of diseases not only for obvious diseases like arthritis and asthma, but also for heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer. A marker of inflammation, C-reactive protein or CRP, is increasingly being recognized as a way to measure increased heart disease risk. A recent consensus panel indicated that blood measurements of CRP of 1 to 3 mg/L (milligrams per liter) indicated an intermediate risk of heart disease, greater than 3 mg/L indicated an increased risk, and greater than 10 mg/L indicate other inflammatory diseases.

A July issue of the journal Circulation examines how CRP relates to heart disease risk. Nearly 4,000 men and women over 65 years of age without prior heart disease risk over 10 years were examined. The study authors’ goal in this study was to evaluate CRP as an independent risk factor for heart disease independent of other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, body mass index or BMI, waist circumference, total and HDL cholesterol, and regular aspirin use.

The authors found that in men and women over 65 years of age heart disease risk increased as CRP increased. They found that CRP in the range of 1 to 3 mg/L was weakly associated with an increased risk. However, they found that there was a 1.45 fold increased risk of heart disease with a CRP greater than 3 mg/L. Also, those who had a CRP > 10 mg/L has a 1.8-fold, or nearly doubled, increased risk for heart disease. The people in the CRP > 10 mg/L represented 6% of the study population.

The authors conclude that, “CRP values > 10 mg/L appear to be important in CHD risk prediction” and that this study “extends previous reports on the association of CRP with CHD [Coronary Heart Disease] to mean and women greater than 65 years of age.”

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