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The next time you go for a cholesterol cheek, ask to be tested for an emerging risk factor for heart attack, C-reactive protein. The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein test measures protein levels that increase with the amount of inflammation in coronary arteries. The heart-attack risk associated with this protein is reported to be almost twice that associated with high levels of LDL cholesterol. Harvard researchers found high levels of C-reactive protein to be the "strongest and most significant" predictor of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and atherosclerosis, compared with other risk factors.
Doctors suspect that inflammation damages arterial walls and plays a key role in plaque buildup. The theory could help explain why people with normal cholesterol and blood pressure levels can still have heart attacks. Look for more on inflammation and heart disease in a future issue of the newsletter. Drugs like statins and aspirin can reduce elevated C-reactive protein levels.
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