c reactive peptide FAQ

Your doctor may order a CRP test if you have symptoms of an infection, such as:

If your CRP level is intermediate or high, you should make the following changes to reduce your chances of heart disease:

Results that are greater than 10 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are considered to be high. High levels usually mean you have some kind of inflammation in your body. This might be due to an infection, a serious injury, or an ongoing disease, like inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis. But the test won't tell you what is causing the inflammation. For that, the doctor would have to run other tests. You could also have a high level because you're in the second half of your pregnancy or you're using birth control pills. Moderate elevation If your CRP level is between 1 and 10 mg/dL, you could have:

The C-reactive protein (CRP) test measures the level of C-reactive protein in your blood. One study found that testing for CRP levels is a better indicator of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than the LDL test. But a CRP test is not a test for heart disease. It's a test for inflammation in the body. The test is also used for people who have autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. These conditions also cause inflammation. A doctor might test someone with either condition to see if anti-inflammatory medication is working, though the CRP test cannot show where the inflammation is taking place in the body. Other things you can do with this test include:

If you have high cholesterol, you've probably been told to lower the LDL number from your blood test. LDL is the "bad cholesterol," the type that contributes to plaque that can clog your arteries. This can lead to a heart attack or stroke. But that's only part of the story. Research shows that a significant number of people who've had heart attacks have average or desirable LDL-C levels. L levels. So, many doctors use another test, called the C-reactive protein test, to help figure out who’s at risk. C-reactive protein (CRP) is produced by the liver. Its level rises when there's inflammation in your body. LDL cholesterol not only coats the walls of your arteries, but it also damages them. This damage causes inflammation that the body tries to heal by sending a "response team" of proteins called "acute phase reactants." CRP is one of these proteins.