CRP is or is not a reliable marker of ischaemic heart disease?

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Cardiology
• Immunology

Background:

• C-reactive protein (CRP) is a key inflammatory marker.
• Inflammation is increasingly recognized in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease and plaque destabilization.
• CRP has been identified as a significant predictor of cardiovascular events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evidence supporting C-reactive protein (CRP) as a marker for future cardiovascular events.
• To discuss the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease.
• To highlight the clinical utility and unanswered questions regarding CRP in cardiovascular risk assessment.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies investigating CRP and cardiovascular events.
• Analysis of CRP's association with risk in various patient populations, including acute coronary syndromes and healthy subjects.
• Evaluation of CRP's properties and clinical acceptance as an inflammatory marker.

Main Results:

• CRP is consistently associated with an increased risk of future cardiovascular events, independent of other risk factors.
• Evidence supports CRP's role in acute coronary syndromes and as a predictor in apparently healthy individuals.
• CRP is the only inflammatory marker currently accepted for clinical use due to its properties and data availability.

Conclusions:

• C-reactive protein (CRP) is a well-established and reliable marker for cardiovascular event risk.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying CRP's predictive power and to identify potentially superior inflammatory markers.
• Despite remaining questions, CRP remains the sole clinically validated inflammatory marker for cardiovascular assessment.