This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Biasucci, L M Articles by Piro, M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Biasucci, L M Articles by Piro, M Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

CRP is or is not a reliable marker of ischaemic heart disease?

Institute of Cardiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy, lmbiasucci{at}virgilio.it

G Giubilato

Institute of Cardiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

F Graziani

Institute of Cardiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

M Piro

Institute of Cardiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

In recent years a growing body of evidence has emphasized the role of C-reactive protein (CRP) as a marker of future cardiovascular events. CRP is a pentameric molecule widely utilized as a marker of infections and inflammation. The evidence that inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease and in plaque destabilization has lead to use of CRP as a marker of cardiovascular disease as well. First described as a component of the inflammatory pathway in acute coronary syndromes, CRP has been consistently found to be associated with the risk of future events in no-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes, independently of other risk factors, including troponine. Subsequently CRP has been described as a powerful marker of risk of future events in large populations of apparently healthy subjects. So far there is very little doubt that CRP represents a reliable marker of cardiovascular events, but some issues remain unanswered such as why CRP is a good marker of cardiovascular events and whether or not a better inflammatory marker exists. It must be stressed that CRP, because of its analytical and biological properties and the large amount of available data, is the only inflammatory marker accepted for clinical use.

Key Words: acute coronary syndrome • atherosclerosis • C-reactive protein • inflammation

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?