Clinical Significance

A prognostic value for measuring CRP has been suggested from studies with cardiac patients where elevated levels of CRP were associated with a higher risk of having a future cardiac event. Elevated levels of CRP have been associated with poor prognosis in cases of stable angina, unstable angina and myocardial infarction.

Cardiac disease is believed to be the end result of an interplay between minor changes in the cardiovascular endothelium and the corresponding inflammatory response to these changes. The ability to measure CRP at extremely low concentrations has raised the possibility of using CRP to detect early inflammatory responses and potentially detect cardiac disease in the preclinical stages. Recent evidence supporting this potential application has shown that high baseline values of CRP in individuals without a history of cardiac disease were associated with an increased incidence of subsequent cardiac events. It is important to note that baseline CRP values are known to be influenced by various non-pathological factors (age, gender, obesity, hormone replacement therapy, smoking) and a single measurement may lead to an erroneous assessment of early cardiac inflammation. Increases in CRP levels are non-specific and should not be interpreted without a complete clinical history. It is recommended, therefore, that any estimations of inflammation be based on changes in CRP values from multiple measurements and be used in conjunction with the values of other cardiac risk indicators (i.e., HDL, cholesterol, etc.)