CRP vs hsCRP

[kp60]

Is hsCRP (high sensitivity CRP) the same as CRP?

If I get an hsCRP blood test do I need a regular CRP blood test as well?

Thanks for insights!

[piglette]

CRP test: Measures high levels of CRP to identify diseases that cause inflammation.

hs-CRP test: Measures low levels of CRP to estimate the risk of heart disease and stroke. The hs-CRP test is more sensitive than a standard CRP test, meaning it can detect smaller increases in CRP levels, so you don’t need the standard CRP test too.

[kp60 in reply to piglette]

Thank you! - so I can't compare to see if my traditional CRP is trending up or down - I would have to get a traditional CRP test to do that. Is that right? I may end up having to get both - one for rheumi to compare "regular" inflammation and one for my cardiologist to measure heart disease risk?

[piglette in reply to kp60]

The high sensitivity CRP is much more sensitive that the basic CRP. If you are looking at trends I would compare the same type to each other, not hs-CRP against CRP. I would have thought hs-CRP measurements should be sufficient.

[kp60 in reply to piglette]

Thank you Piglette!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

Not really - hsCRP is for CVD - see my reply below.

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks, I explained myself badly.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

hsCRP is a test that is done when your CRP test is in normal range to see if there is a small increase that may be due to cardiovascular disease including heart attack:

"High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a marker of inflammation that predicts incident myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and sudden cardiac death among healthy individuals with no history of cardiovascular disease, and recurrent events and death in patients with acute or stable coronary syndromes. hsCRP confers additional prognostic value at all levels of cholesterol, Framingham coronary risk score, severity of the metabolic syndrome, and blood pressure, and in those with and without subclinical atherosclerosis. hsCRP levels of less than 1, 1 to 3, and greater than 3 mg/L are associated with lower, moderate, and higher cardiovascular risks, respectively. This article summarizes epidemiologic data on the relation between CRP and atherothrombotic disease and provides clinical guidelines for hsCRP screening in cardiovascular risk assessment."

and

mayoclinic.org/tests-proced...

They are two different tests and this

mayocliniclabs.com/api/site...

says "This test is recommended for cardiovascular risk assessment only. ...

This hs-CRP assay should be used to assess risk of cardiovascular disease or events. A different CRP test (CRP / C-Reactive Protein [CRP], Serum) should be used to monitor or assess other inflammatory disorders."

[kp60 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMR pro! Got it.