AUSCC

C reactive protein

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein that is created by the liver and is seen in the blood. CRP amounts in the blood increases if there is an inflammation anywhere in the body and therefore elevated levels of CRP is cause for worry and can be proof of burns, inflammation, trauma, infection, active inflammatory arthritis, some cancers and more recently CRP has been connected to atherosclerosis and heart disease.

The function of CRP is to join to phosphocholine on microbes and it assists phagocytosis by macrophages which means that it helps in the elimination and assimilation of bacteria, dead cells and small mineral particles.

C-reactive protein is thought to play an important role as an early defense system against infections in the body. In situations of acute inflammation CRP amounts increase as much as 50,000 times above normal, typically within 6 hours and peaks at 48 hours. The CRP amount is a highly true indication of an inflammation since the only known element to interfere with CRP production is liver failure.

Measuring CRP levels therefore is useful in determining how a disease is progressing, and whether or not treatments given for the disease are working. Measuring CRP calls for collecting and analyzing the patient’s blood; in regular results there is normally no CRP at all detected in the blood

A high sensitivity test may be used to check your CRP level known as an hs-CRP test. This test will pick up even trace levels of CRP that a regular blood test would not find. In healthy persons CRP levels are less than 10 mg/L and raises slightly as one ages. Higher levels are found in women in late pregnancy, in women taking oral contraceptives and in situations of mild inflammation and viral infections. Your CRP amounts will show whether you are low risk, high risk or average risk for developing heart disease.

In more recent times elevated amounts of CRP have been linked to diabetes, hypertension and as said before, heart disease and strokes; high amounts of hs-CRP have consistently been used to predict recurrent coronary problems in patients. There are also studies which suggest that increased levels of hs-CRP can be used to predict repeats of strokes and peripheral artery disease.

Because increased CRP amounts may be caused by an infection or inflammation, a single measurement is not enough to forecast a person’s risk of heart problems. Therefore diagnosing heart problems is done by doing two separate CRP tests two weeks apart and using the average number of both readings to estimate a person’s likelihood of getting heart disease.

In cases of elevated CRP, it is useless to try and treat the raised CRP in itself, the key is to treat the underlying condition that is causing the abnormal elevation and decreasing the risk of heart problems. The most effective techniques for lessening the risk of heart problems are regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, and giving up smoking if you are a smoker. In some cases medication may be the only answer.