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C-reactive protein comes of age

Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine volume 2, pages 29–36 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death throughout the world despite advances in its detection and treatment. Commonly used risk algorithms, such as the Framingham Risk Score fail to identify all affected individuals. Novel cardiovascular risk factors that identify these missed individuals would greatly improve overall care of patients. C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory biomarker, has emerged as a leading candidate to fulfill this role. Based on the results of several prospective epidemiologic studies, CRP has emerged as one of the most powerful predictors of cardiovascular disease. This marker provides valuable information to clinicians in various clinical settings, ranging from overt cardiovascular disease, stable angina, presenting acute coronary syndromes and peripheral vascular disease, to the metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, CRP has been demonstrated to actively contribute to all stages of atherogenesis, participating in endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerotic-plaque formation, plaque maturation, plaque destabilization and eventual rupture. Thus, it might also serve as a therapeutic target. It is our contention that the future will see much wider use of CRP and CRP-driven therapies in clinical medicine, improving our ability to identify and manage cardiovascular disease.

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Figure 1: Predictive value of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein
Figure 2: The role of C-reactive protein in atherogenesis

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Subodh Verma and Paul E Szmitko: S Verma is a Scientist and Assistant Professor, and PE Szmitko is an investigator

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiac Surgery, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, ON, Canada

    Subodh Verma & Paul E Szmitko

  2. the Director, Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Paul M Ridker

Authors
  1. Subodh Verma
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  2. Paul E Szmitko
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  3. Paul M Ridker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Subodh Verma.

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Competing interests

Paul Ridker is listed as a co-inventor on patents held by the Brigham and Women's Hospital that pertain to the use of inflammatory biomarkers in cardiovascular disease.

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Verma, S., Szmitko, P. & Ridker, P. C-reactive protein comes of age. Nat Rev Cardiol 2, 29–36 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpcardio0074

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