Bringing clarity to CRP testing
It isn't easy to gauge the health of the heart and arteries. Blood pressure and cholesterol are good stand-ins, but they aren't perfect. That's why researchers have explored hundreds of other tests. The one that has edged closest to widespread use is a blood test for C-reactive protein (CRP). An excess of CRP in the bloodstream signals the kind of steady, low-grade inflammation that accompanies artery-clogging atherosclerosis, a key contributor to cardiovascular disease. The test is called the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) or cardiac CRP test. It defines three categories of risk (see table).
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