💊Daily Pill: What is C-Reactive Protein?
🔬The Inflammation Indicator You Need to Know About
The Daily Pill is a series of very short daily posts where I share the definition of a medical term I think we should all know. Read it every morning and build up your medical vocabulary.
🔬C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is a substance produced by the liver in response to inflammation. Because of this, CRP is what is known as a biomarker - in this case of acute and chronic inflammation. We can measure CRP levels via a simple blood test.
High CRP levels can indicate various conditions ranging from infections to chronic diseases like heart disease and arthritis. But unfortunately, it is not very specific. In fact, CRP levels can signal inflammation due to various causes, including bacterial infections, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune disorders, and many more. For this reason, measuring CRP levels without having a specific reason to, or in the absence of very specific problems is not very helpful. Nonetheless, monitoring CRP levels can help in assessing the severity of a previously identified inflammatory process and monitoring treatment decisions and progress.
🤔Why you need to know:
High C-Reactive Protein Increases Risk Of Death By 171%.
- Peter Attia, MD
Monitoring CRP levels can help you detect inflammation early - allowing for timely intervention and management of underlying conditions. Elevated CRP levels are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and can serve as a warning sign for potential health issues.
If you are interested in this topic, here is my long-form post about inflammation:
🧠Trivia:
CRP was discovered in 1930 by William S. Tillett and Thomas Francis, Jr. Interestingly, CRP levels can spike dramatically, sometimes increasing up to a thousand-fold in response to severe inflammation or infection, making it one of the most sensitive markers of inflammation in the body.
