The Monitoring of C-Reactive Protein (CRP)

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein (one whose blood concentrations increase or decrease in response to inflammation) produced by the liver.

Elevations or increases are usually of the most significance. Levels of blood CRP can markedly rise in response to widespread inflammation anywhere in the body caused by various conditions or events such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, cancer, and traumas.

There are many applications of CRP testing. It can be employed whenever sudden and serious inflammation is suspected, to evaluate known conditions, or to assess treatment of the inflammatory condition. An advantage over the ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), which was historically used as an inflammation marker, is that an increase or decrease in CRP levels can be detected much sooner than changes in an ESR.

Monitoring CRP levels has been shown to be especially popular and useful for determining the risk of heart disease and evaluating cardiovascular disease that is already present. It is believed that the inflammation process contributes to this condition by damaging the plaque adhered to blood vessel walls, enabling it to break off into the bloodstream. The plaque can then lodge in the smaller vessels of the brain or heart, causing a stroke or heart attack.

Another application of CRP assessment in our patient population is monitoring and/or risk assessment of metabolic syndrome. This condition includes some, if not all of the following: high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides and LDL-C, low HDL-C, and an elevated fasting glucose. A linear correlation between a high CRP and these elements of metabolic syndrome has been established: the more signs a patient presents with, the higher the CRP.

CRP is an important part of routine screening for all patients. We have elaborated on a few of its most useful applications. Labrix offers CRP among numerous other tests on our new BloodDrop(TM) menu. Give us a call for more information.