According to a study, people with elevated levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) could be at higher risk for heart attack, but not stroke. Prior studies have found CRP to be a marker for predicting risk of heart disease.
The study involved 2,240 people from the Northern Manhattan Study who were 40 years old or older and stroke-free. Of the group, 63 percent were Hispanic, 20 percent non-Hispanic black and 15 percent non-Hispanic white residents.
All participants had their blood tested for CRP levels and were evaluated for stroke and heart attack risk factors. They were followed for an average of eight years. In that time, there were 198 strokes, 156 heart-related events and 586 deaths.
The researchers found that people with CRP levels greater than three milligrams per liter were 70 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack and 55 percent more likely to die early compared to people who had levels of one milligram per liter or less of the protein in their blood. The protein was not associated with an increased risk of stroke once other risk factors were taken into account.
“It appears that by living a healthy lifestyle, one may be able to lower these protein levels, thus lowering the risk of cardiac events and possibly early death,” said study author Mitchell Elkind. “It may be that the failure of CRP to predict stroke in our study, unlike in some other populations, reflects the fact that our population is older and has more of these risk factors. While CRP may be predictive in generally young healthy people, it may be less useful among older, sicker people. More research needs to be done on why the protein wasn’t able to predict stroke in the same manner as heart disease.”
References:
1. Mitchell Elkind, et al. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein predicts mortality but not stroke: The Northern Manhattan Study. Neurology, Oct 2009; 73: 1300 – 1307.
