Hi, I Recently Had A CRP Test Performed While In

Posted on Fri, 11 Sep 2020

Question: Hi, I recently had a CRP test performed while in the hospital. It says the normal level is less than 0.5mg/dL but mine was 0.8. Is that a mild elevation? All the things I see show cardiac risk is very high if it is above 3mg/L, and when you convert mg/dL to mg/L that would put me at an 8 rather than a 0.8, which it says is an extremely high risk of cardiac events. Can you convert the regular CRP and high sensitive CRP like that to get an answer? If that is the case I am kind of concerned about my health. I'm only 23, so I shouldn't have a high cardiac risk I feel like.

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome to Ask A Doctor service!

I understand your concern and would explain that CRP is slightly elevated, which indicates the presence of mild inflammation.

This elevation could be related to a viral infection or inflammation. Anyway this is not a specific marker.

If you don't have cardiac symptomatology and any potential cardiovascular risk factors such as : diabetes, arterial hypertension, heredity for CAD, dyslipidemia, or smoking, there is no reason to worry about your heart, because you are at a low risk for future cardiac events.

So, try to relax and don't worry about this test result!

I hope you will find this information helpful!

I remain at your disposal for any further questions whenever you need!

Wishing all the best,

Dr.Ilir Sharka,
Cardiologist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Ilir Sharka (1 hour later)

Hi, Thank you so much for your response. I was wondering if you could explain the difference in the hs CRP and the regular CRP. Is it true that my 0.8 mg/dL would be equivalent to 0.8 mg/L if converted to the hs CRP? because the chart I found says greater than 3 mg/L is very high risk for cardiac events. If you convert my 0.8 mg/dL you get 8 mg/L and that seems scary.

Thank you for your time.

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (12 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Opinion as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello again!

Let me explain that as CRP is traditionally measured down to concentrations of 3-5 mg/L, hs-CRP measures down to levels around 0.3 mg/L; It is a matter of improved sensitivity in case of hs-CRP for detecting low-grade inflammation.

Although hsCRP has emerged as a strong and independent predictor of future cardiovascular events, there is a wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory conditions and many cancers that could trigger the synthesis of CRP by the liver.

That's why there is actually insufficient evidence to rely only on CRP or hs-CRP in clinical practice when considering future cardiovascular events prediction.

Instead, I would encourage you discussing with your attending physician to discuss your 0.8 mg/dl (CRP value) to investigate any possible underlying inflammatory disorders that could be treated.

Hope to have been helpful!

Wishing you a pleasant weekend!

Regards,

Dr. Iliri

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar