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Scott Shurmur, M.D. |
Getting the test can save lives, said Scott Shurmur, M.D., a cardiologist, board certified lipidologist and associate professor of internal medicine in cardiology at UNMC.
“It has been found that subtle variations in low levels of hsCRP are what really predict heart disease risk,” Dr. Shurmur said.
Elevated hsCRP levels indicate vascular inflammation in the arteries of the heart, he said.
A normal level is less than one milligram per liter, while an elevated level is greater than three milligrams per liter.
This indicates how much plaque is being formed in the arteries and how likely that plaque is to rupture and cause a heart attack.
A presentation at the American Heart Association sparked the recent round of interest in hsCRP, Dr. Shurmur said.
The presentation focused on results from the investigator initiated JUPITER trial, which suggest that even people with normal cholesterol levels who have elevated hsCRP levels should be on a statin, he said.
JUPITER stands for Justification for the Use of statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin. The trial was funded by AstraZeneca. UNMC was not a participant in the trial.
“The trial also showed that statins not only reduce bad cholesterol levels but also are effective at reducing hsCRP levels,” Dr. Shurmur said.
Even though Crestor was used in the JUPITER trial, he said, all statins lower hsCRP levels. However, some are more effective than others.
“Clearly the risk of heart disease increases with age, but athlerosclerosis or plaque build-up is a life-long process,” Dr. Shurmur said. “So it makes sense for people to modify their diet and increase exercise as early in life as possible to decrease their risk.”
In his opinion, having a doctor test for hsCRP levels is like having your blood pressure or cholesterol checked.
“It’s not terribly expensive,” Dr. Shurmur said. “It costs no more than routine lab tests.”
And most insurance companies do cover those costs, he said.