Originally published July 10 2005
Blood protein signals heart disease risk
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
There's a new test to help predict dangerous ruptures in clogged arteries that can lead to heart attack or stroke: An new blood test measures circulating levels of an inflammation-linked compound called C-reactive protein (CRP).
As cholesterol builds up on artery walls, blood vessels shrink and blood pressure goes up.
Now, there's a new test to help predict dangerous ruptures in those clogged arteries -- ruptures that can lead to heart attack or stroke.
The cheap, easy blood test measures circulating levels of an inflammation-linked compound called C-reactive protein (CRP), and it's becoming increasingly popular in doctor's offices nationwide.
"Even people with relatively low cholesterol levels, if they have a high CRP they may still be at high risk for heart trouble," said Dr. James O'Keefe, a spokesman for the American College of Cardiology and director of preventive cardiology at the Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City.
Another expert, former American Heart Association president Dr. Sidney Smith, stressed that the CRP screen should complement -- not replace -- traditional diagnostic tests such as screens for cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Smith, director of cardiovascular science and medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was also a co-author of heart association recommendations on CRP screening, issued in 2003.
Instead, it recommended doctors use the test at their own discretion, noting that it is probably most useful in patients already diagnosed with various risk factors for heart disease.
As arteries get clogged with cholesterol and placed under increasing strain, inflammation often occurs.
CRP isn't restricted to heart disease -- in fact, it's found at relatively high levels in people with chronic inflammatory illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.
However, "we've learned over the past decade that the process of atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries] develops over years, and that inflammation seems to be a very important part of causing the atherosclerotic lesion to ulcerate and then 'clot off,' " Smith said.
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