What Causes Elevated Serum Creatine Kinase Level And Foamy Urine?

Posted on Mon, 14 Sep 2015

Question: Good evening. I had a stent placed in my heart 5 years ago. For the past 5 years, I have been on 75 mg of plavix, a baby aspirin, and a light statin. All my labs have turned out fine. On two occasions, my CK was elevated, but only slightly, I think just 5-10 points above normal. Anyway, I am feeling fine, but recently noticed my urine does have bubbles in it, some days more than others. It's not really foam, but 50 or so small bubbles at the surface. Should I be worried? This has been going on for more than a year.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Meriton Siqeca (29 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Urinalysis

Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I am Dr. Meriton. I understand your concern.

Every stent has a probability of intrastent re-stenosis (blockage within the stent), but this probability is highest within 6 months of implantation. This probability gets lower with time. Also, clopidogrel is advised to be taken for 6-12 months, so I would recommend you to discontinue it, since it has been five years now. Anyway, this is not a problem caused by the stent.

I do not think that foamy urine has to do with a pathological process. However, just to be sure, to confirm or exclude any pathological conditions, I would suggest you to do an urinalysis, and the judge about any abnormality.

I hope I was helpful with my answer. If you have any further questions, I would be happy to help. If you do not, close the discussion and rate the answer.

Best regards,
Dr. Meriton

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Meriton Siqeca (22 hours later)

What about high CK? I had a blood test 4 months ago and Ck was fine. Could my Ck be elevated 4 months later? Could this cause he foamy urine?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Meriton Siqeca (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Not to worry about

Detailed Answer:
Greetings! Welcome back!

Creatine phospho kinase (CK) is a muscle enzyme, which can be easily found slightly elevated in most of us, may increase because of every slight damage to the muscles, like an injection to the buttocks, muscle soreness etc. I do not think they are related to foamy urine, at least not on the clinical side. However, I would recommend you to do the urinalysis I suggested in the first answer, and a blood urea and creatinine to also check kidney function. It is only when CK is elevated 3-5-fold the normal range, when we can consider it as a pathological phenomenon and seek for a diagnosis.

I hope I was of help. If you do not have further clarifications, close the discussion and rate the answer. Take care.

Regards,
Dr. Meriton

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad