Video / Sharecare Experts / Donnica Moore, MD / Who Should Have a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Test?

Who Should Have a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Test?

Who Should Have a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Test? (1:03)

A C-reactive protein (CRP) test is not for everyone; there are guidelines based on risk that doctors follow when recommending the test. Watch women's health specialist Donnica Moore, MD, explain who the best candidates are for the screening and why.

Read Transcript

Interestingly a CRP test is not for everyone. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology recommend the heart specific CRP or HSCRP for any men over 50 and women over 60 who are low to average risk. Now this may be counter intuitive, because usually we test the higher risk people and not the low to average risk people.

But the concept here is that higher risk people are already getting full intervention to reduce their risk. A low to average risk person on the other hand may have a build up of inflammation reflecting plaque build up in their coronary arteries for example, and I wouldn't know that unless I did the test.

So in that case, in the case of a low to average risk person, if their CRP is high or even moderately high, that might influence the doctor's recommendations for how to modify your lifestyle or for other treatments which may be indicated.