Crp - C-reactive Protein

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein that is created by the liver and is located in the blood. CRP amounts in the blood grows if there is an inflammation anywhere in the body and thus elevated levels of CRP is cause for alarm and may 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 connect to phosphocholine on microbes and it assists phagocytosis by macrophages which means that it helps in the destruction and assimilation of bacteria, dead cells and tiny mineral particles.

CRP is thought to play an important role as an early defense system against infections in the body. In instances 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 level is a very accurate indication of an inflammation as the only known factor 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 requires taking and analyzing the patient's blood; in regular results there is normally no CRP whatsoever found in the blood

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

In more recent times raised levels of CRP have been linked to diabetes, hypertension and as said 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 increased levels of hs-CRP can be used to predict recurrences of strokes and peripheral artery disease.

Because increased CRP levels may be influenced by an infection or inflammation, a single measurement is not enough to predict a person's risk of heart problems. As such diagnosing heart problems is done by performing two separate CRP tests two weeks apart and using the average number of both readings to estimate a person's probability of getting heart disease.

In cases of elevated CRP, it is futile to try and treat the increased 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 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.