What Does C Reactive Protein Indicate

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Why Would I Need This Test

C Reactive Protein Test â What does it mean?

You might need this test if your doctor suspects that you have an infection or an illness related to inflammation or to check for infection, especially after surgery. CRP can help confirm a diagnosis and assess how well treatment is going for these kinds of illnesses.

Sometimes CRP is tested if a pregnant woman has ruptured her membranes early. CRP can indicate if there are any problems with the baby.

A special type of CRP called a high-sensitivity CRP can help determine the risk for heart disease.

Who Is At Risk For Periodontitis

Periodontitis is fairly uncommon in people under age 30. Still, it can affect anyone with poor oral hygiene those who dont brush their teeth and floss regularly.

Periodontitis is more likely to happen as you age, though. Thats because years of poor oral hygiene take their toll. Before you get periodontitis, youll develop gingivitis, a less severe form of gum disease. If you dont get treatment for gingivitis, periodontitis can happen.

Men are also more likely to get periodontitis. One possible reason is that men are less likely to get regular dental care. They also tend to have worse dental health.

Other factors that can increase your periodontitis risk include:

  • Smoking , since it weakens the bodys ability to fight infection.
  • Diabetes, since people with diabetes are at higher risk for developing infections.
  • Medications that lower the production of saliva, which protects your gums. These medicines include antihistamines, antidepressants and drugs for hypertension .
  • Genetics you may have genes that put you at higher risk.
  • Hormonal changes in women, such as pregnancy or using birth control pills.
  • Diseases that limit the immune systems response, such as cancer or AIDS. These conditions can lead to necrotizing periodontitis, the most severe form.

How Is The Test Used

The C-reactive protein test is used to detect inflammation.

For example, CRP may be used to detect or monitor significant inflammation in acute conditions, such as:

  • A serious bacterial infection of the lung, urinary tract, digestive tract, skin, or other sites, with or without sepsis
  • A fungal or viral infection
  • Pelvic inflammatory disease
  • The CRP test is useful in monitoring chronic inflammatory conditions to detect flare-ups and/or to determine if treatment is effective. Some examples include:

    • Inflammatory bowel disease
    • Some forms of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis
    • Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus or vasculitis

    Examples of other uses:

    • The CRP test is widely used to detect sepsis in newborn babies.
    • The CRP test may be used to monitor patients after surgery. Generally, CRP levels increase after surgery and drop down to normal unless post-surgery infection is present.
    • CRP can be a good predictor of rejection in kidney transplant recipients.

    CRP may sometimes be ordered along with an erythrocyte sedimentation rate , another test that detects inflammation, or procalcitonin, a test that indicates sepsis. While the CRP test is not specific enough to diagnose a particular disease, it does serve as a general marker for infection and inflammation, thus alerting healthcare practitioners that further testing and treatment may be necessary. Depending on the suspected cause, a number of other tests may be performed to identify the source of inflammation.

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    Saturated Fatty Acids And Trans Fats

    There is a potential link between saturated fatty acids and CRP levels .

    Lauric and myristic acids and high saturated/polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio have been associated with elevated CRP in men .

    A study of over 700 nurses showed that those with the highest trans fat intake had blood levels of CRP that were 73% higher on average than those with the lowest intake .

    How Do Doctors Use The Crp Test To Monitor Your Disease

    Free art print of Human C

    As rheumatologists follow a patients progress through treatment, inflammation levels can tell them how active the disease is. The CRP gives you something to follow to see if the inflammation is high, says Dr. Kaplan. During flare-ups, CRP will be higher, so its a good gauge of whether your current treatment regimen is effective.

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    What Should I Expect During My Crp Test

    You can expect to experience the following during a blood test, or blood draw:

    • Youll sit in a chair, and a healthcare provider will check your arms for an easily accessible vein. This is usually in the inner part of your arm on the other side of your elbow.
    • Once theyve located a vein, theyll clean and disinfect the area.
    • Theyll then insert a small needle into your vein to take a blood sample. This may feel like a small pinch.
    • After they insert the needle, a small amount of blood will collect in a test tube.
    • Once they have enough blood to test, theyll remove the needle and hold a cotton ball or gauze on the site to stop the bleeding.
    • Theyll place a bandage over the site, and youll be finished.

    The entire procedure usually takes less than five minutes.

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    Should I Be Concerned If My Crp Level Is Abnormal

    If your CRP test results reveal that you have high levels of CRP, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a medical condition that needs treatment, especially if theyre only slightly elevated. Several factors, such as smoking, recent injury and certain health conditions, can raise your CRP levels. There couldve also been an error in the collection, transport or processing of the test.

    If you have an abnormal result, your healthcare provider will discuss your results with you. They may order additional tests to determine the cause of your abnormal CRP levels.

    A note from Cleveland Clinic

    Seeing an abnormal test result can be stressful. Know that having an elevated CRP level doesnt necessarily mean you have a medical condition and need treatment. Approximately 1 in 20 healthy people will have results outside of the normal range. Your healthcare provider will let you know if you need to have further tests to determine the cause of the abnormal level. Dont be afraid to ask your provider questions. Theyre available to help you.

    Treating And Preventing Elevated C

    What is C-Reactive Protein & How to Lower it? â Dr.Berg

    By Jillian Levy, CHHC

    C-reactive protein levels increase and decrease depending on how much inflammation youre experiencing at any given time. Inflammation is defined as Redness, swelling, pain, and/or a feeling of heat in an area of the body. This is a protective reaction to injury, disease, or irritation of the tissues.

    When you arent sick or injured, its normal for C-reactive protein levels to be low. But when something happens to signal to the body that it needs to be healed, levels rise to make this happen. Once you start to recover and symptoms subside, levels will fall and should return to normal.

    This is why doctors use CRP tests to determine if a patients treatment plan is working, in addition to assessing if he/she is at risk for problems related to chronic inflammation , including heart disease.

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    How Long Does Crp Levels Take To Normalize

    Usual levels of C reactive protein in blood is less than 5 mg/L. Within 4-6 hours of the inflammatory stimulus, secretion of CRP starts rising, which doubles every 8 hours and peaks within 36 72 hours, and returns to normal around 3 days after the stimulus settles down. Hence, your doctor may advise you to repeat CRP after 3 days in COVID-19 if the levels in the previous CRP test were higher, to see if the infection is progressive or dwindling.

    What Is The Difference Between Acute Inflammation And Chronic Inflammation

    There are two types of inflammation:

    • Acute inflammation: The response to sudden body damage, such as cutting your finger. To heal the cut, your body sends inflammatory cells to the injury. These cells start the healing process.
    • Chronic inflammation: Your body continues sending inflammatory cells even when there is no outside danger. For example, in rheumatoid arthritis inflammatory cells and substances attack joint tissues leading to an inflammation that comes and goes and can cause severe damage to joints with pain and deformities.

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    What Does It Mean If Your C Reactive Protein Is High

    C-reactive protein is a protein that your body produces in response to inflammation. Inflammation can be caused by many things, such as infection, injuries, or smoking.

    What does it mean if your C reactive protein is high?

    C-reactive protein is a biomarker that is used to measure the amount of inflammation in the body. Elevated levels of CRP indicate that there is inflammation somewhere in the body.

    There are many conditions and diseases that can cause inflammation, including infection, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and heart disease. So, if your CRP levels are high, it could be an indication of any number of health problems. It’s important to get checked out by a doctor to determine the root cause of the inflammation.

    High C-reactive protein levels indicate that you have inflammation somewhere in your body. This could be due to an infection, autoimmune disease, or any other type of inflammatory condition. It’s important to determine the cause of the inflammation so that you can address it and hopefully improve your health.

    C-reactive protein is a protein that your body produces in response to inflammation. Inflammation can be caused by many things, such as infection, injuries, or smoking. When CRP levels are high, it means that you have a lot of inflammation in your body.

    A high C reactive protein level is a sign that you have inflammation in your body. Inflammation is linked with many health conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.

    What To Do When The Crp Is High

    Human C

    After confirming high levels of CRP, the doctor will evaluate the results of other tests and assess the patients symptoms. From the moment the cause is identified, treatment can be started in a more focused and specific way.

    When the patient shows signs of malaise without any other symptoms or specific risk factors, the doctor may request other exams, such as blood tumor marker tests or a CT scan, to check if increased levels of CRP are related to cancer.

    When C-reactive protein levels are above 200 mg/L and an infection is confirmed, normally the person will be hospitalized to receive intravenous antibiotics. The CRP levels start to increase 6 hours after any infection starts and will usually start to lower after antibiotics. If CRP levels have not decreased after two days, it’s important that the doctor establish another treatment strategy.

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    What Causes Periodontitis

    A buildup of bacteria in the mouth can eventually cause periodontitis.

    All of our mouths have bacteria thats healthy and normal. But some types of bacteria mix with mucus and other substances. This combination forms a film on our teeth called plaque. When you brush and floss, you get rid of plaque. But if you dont do so regularly, the plaque hardens and forms tartar. You cant get rid of tartar through brushing you need a professional dental cleaning.

    The buildup of plaque and tartar leads to gingivitis, an inflammation of the gingivae . Your gums start to swell and bleed. You can treat gingivitis through good dental care, including brushing, flossing and professional cleanings. But untreated gingivitis leads to periodontitis.

    Crp In Disease Pathology

    The majority of CRP research has focused on the role of CRP and its isoforms on cardiovascular disease and stroke. CRP is used as a clinical marker of inflammation, with elevated serum levels being a strong independent predictor of cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic individuals . CRP levels have been linked to prognosis in patients with atherosclerotic disease, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, myocarditis, aortic valve disease, and heart transplantation, suggesting that it has an active role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease . High-sensitivity assays, such as nephelometric assays, are used to detect baseline levels of CRP and patients who are at risk of cardiovascular disease. An individual with a CRP level higher than 3mg/L has an increased risk of coronary heart disease , and this risk increases in those with type 2 diabetes .

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    Addressing Your Risk Factors

    A number of risk factors may contribute to CRP levels, and there may be benefits to taking steps to reduce your CRP levels. Treatment aimed at lowering CRP levels may reduce cardiovascular risk, but researchers are still working to understand these relationships.

    Elevated CRP levels are almost always associated with other risk factors for heart disease, including:

    Talk to your healthcare provider about your heart disease risk factors and what can be done to address them and your CRP levels.

    This may involve habit changes, weight loss efforts, and/or medication.

    Elevated CRP is associated with increased risk of heart disease. While it’s uncertain how much reducing CRP itself can help, elevated levels are a sign that you likely have other risk factors that need to be addressed with aggressive measures.

    What Are The Types Of Osteomyelitis

    C-Reactive Protein (CRP) | Inflammation | Acute phase reactant

    Types of osteomyelitis include:

    • Acute: This infection comes on suddenly. You may have a fever and then develop pain in the infected area days later.
    • Chronic: Chronic osteomyelitis is a bone infection that doesnt go away with treatments. It causes bone pain and recurring drainage . Rarely, chronic osteomyelitis doesnt have symptoms. The infection may go undetected for months or even years.
    • Vertebral: This type affects the spine. It causes chronic back pain that gets worse when you move. Treatments like resting, heating and pain relievers dont help. It rarely causes a fever. People who live in nursing homes, misuse intravenous drugs or are on dialysis are more prone to spinal bone infections.

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    How Sensitive And Specific Is The Crp Test

    The CRP test is not very specific, which means it isnt unique to one disease. Sure, high levels could be a signal of autoimmune disease, but CRP levels could also be elevated because of infection, heart disease, or other health issues. A potential benefit of CRP over the sedimentation rate test, a similar test of inflammation, is that its not quite as fickle, says Dr. Kaplan. CRP is more sensitive, which means that a patient with autoimmune disease is more likely to test positive.

    What Type Of Results Do You Get For A C

    Blood test reports, including CRP blood test reports, usually provide the following information:

    • The name of the blood test or what was measured in your blood.
    • The number or measurement of your blood test result.
    • The normal measurement range for that test.
    • Information that indicates if your result is normal or abnormal or high or low.

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    Crp Test For Autoimmune Diseases

    Autoimmune diseases are conditions where your own immune response inadvertently attacks healthy parts of the body. There are several different types and a number of conditions that fall into this bracket. Because this is a condition that means the immune system is active whilst experiencing the symptoms of the disease, this results in a raised CRP level.

    The increasing CRP levels then create a great way to monitor the severity of the disease. Often with autoimmune diseases, the condition may not be constantly active and can be triggered to become active, however, the trigger is not always known. Thus, people who suffer from these conditions can use CRP monitoring as an early warning sign for their condition to become active.

    To Diagnose And Monitor Inflammation

    Human C

    The CRP test can be used to check for inflammation in your body. It is requested when your doctor suspects that you might have an inflammatory disorder. It does not show what is causing the inflammation or where the inflammation is located. It is requested for:

    • diagnosis to check whether you have an inflammatory condition such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or other autoimmune disorders
    • monitoring if you have already been diagnosed with an inflammatory disorder, to monitor the disease and see how well your treatment is working. If your treatment is working well, and the inflammation lessens, the level of CRP in your blood will drop.

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    How Are Normal And Elevated C

    C-reactive protein is a marker of inflammation and is typically not detected in the blood unless some degree of inflammation is present in the body.

    • CRP measurement is made using a blood sample from a vein. The sample is then taken to a laboratory and analyzed.
    • The traditional CRP measurement is often used to detect inflammation in the body. Your health-care provider may order a C-reactive protein level to check for flare-ups of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or vasculitis or to monitor whether anti-inflammatory medications are working to treat a disease or condition.
    • Currently, a more highly sensitive measurement to detect CRP is used for cardiovascular risk assessment. This high-sensitive C-reactive protein is termed hs-CRP.
    • Because measuring CRP levels at any point in time may be influenced by any infection or inflammation in the body, onetime measurement is generally not regarded as an adequate predictor of cardiovascular risk. Therefore, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends checking two separate CRP levels approximately two weeks apart and using the average number of the two readings for cardiovascular risk assessment and screening purposes.

    What Are The Normal Values For Crp Blood Test

    We have opted to use the more sensitive version of the CRP test, the hs-CRP test, as part of our home blood testing. This means that we will be able to identify even trace amounts of CRP in your blood.

    According to most labs, the reference normal value of hs-CRP for individuals who have no underlying health issues should be below 10mg/L 1.

    However, at ElevateMe, we use optimal ranges which are different from reference ranges. Optimal ranges are developed using the average values of the healthiest of individuals. Here are the optimal ranges for hs-CRP. For an optimum life, you should have values in the green band.

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