C-reactive Protein Test

By Author: Rob Thomas
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C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein which is made by the liver and is seen in the blood. CRP levels in the blood increases if there is an inflammation anywhere in the body and therefore high levels of CRP is reason for concern 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 purpose of CRP is to join to phosphocholine on microbes and it aids phagocytosis by macrophages which means that it helps in the elimination and assimilation of bacteria, dead cells and tiny mineral particles.CRP is thought to play an important part as an early defense system against infections in the body. In situations of acute inflammation CRP levels rise as much as 50,000 times above normal, generally within 6 hours and peaks at 48 hours.

The CRP level is a highly true indication of an inflammation because the only known thing to interfere with CRP production is liver failure.Measuring CRP levels as such is useful in determining how a disease is progressing, and whether or not medications ...
... given for the disease are working. Measuring CRP calls for taking and analyzing the patient's blood; in regular results there is generally no CRP at all located in the blood.

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

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

Because increased CRP levels may be caused by an infection or inflammation, a single measurement is not enough to forecast a person's risk of heart problems. As such 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 suffering heart disease.

In instances of raised CRP, it is futile to try and treat the raised CRP in itself, the key is to treat the underlying condition that is causing the abnormal elevation and lessening the risk of heart problems. The most effective methods 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 instances medication may be the only answer.
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