High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hs-CRP)
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- Also Known As:
- hsCRP
- Cardiac CRP
- CRP for heart disease

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At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To help assess your risk of developing cardiovascular disease
When To Get Tested?
No current consensus exists on when to get tested; hs-CRP is often ordered in conjunction with other tests that are performed to assess risk of heart disease, such as a lipid panel (cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C) when your healthcare provider would like additional information on your risk.
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm
Test Preparation Needed?
No test preparation is needed; however, you may be instructed to fast for 9-12 hours before the blood sample is taken if a lipid panel also is going to be done at the same time. You should be healthy at the time of the sample collection, without any recent illnesses, infections, inflammation, or injuries.
You may be able to find your test results on your laboratory’s website or patient portal. However, you are currently at Testing.com. You may have been directed here by your lab’s website in order to provide you with background information about the test(s) you had performed. You will need to return to your lab’s website or portal, or contact your healthcare practitioner in order to obtain your test results.
Testing.com is an award-winning patient education website offering information on laboratory tests. The content on the site, which has been reviewed by laboratory scientists and other medical professionals, provides general explanations of what results might mean for each test listed on the site, such as what a high or low value might suggest to your healthcare practitioner about your health or medical condition.
The reference ranges for your tests can be found on your laboratory report. They are typically found to the right of your results.
If you do not have your lab report, consult your healthcare provider or the laboratory that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range.
Laboratory test results are not meaningful by themselves. Their meaning comes from comparison to reference ranges. Reference ranges are the values expected for a healthy person. They are sometimes called “normal” values. By comparing your test results with reference values, you and your healthcare provider can see if any of your test results fall outside the range of expected values. Values that are outside expected ranges can provide clues to help identify possible conditions or diseases.
While accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, some lab-to-lab variability can occur due to differences in testing equipment, chemical reagents, and techniques. This is a reason why so few reference ranges are provided on this site. It is important to know that you must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are “within normal limits.”
For more information, please read the article Reference Ranges and What They Mean.
What is being tested?
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein that increases in the blood with inflammation and infection as well as following a heart attack, surgery, or trauma. Studies have suggested that a persistent low level of inflammation plays a major role in atherosclerosis, the narrowing of blood vessels due to build-up of cholesterol and other lipids, which is often associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The hs-CRP test accurately measures low levels of CRP to identify low but persistent levels of inflammation and thus helps predict a person’s risk of developing CVD.
There are two different tests that measure CRP and each test measures a different range of CRP level in the blood for different purposes:
- The standard CRP test measures markedly high levels of the protein to detect diseases that cause significant inflammation. It measures CRP in the range from 10 to 1000 mg/L. This test may be used to detect inflammation.
- The hs-CRP test accurately detects lower levels of the protein than the standard CRP test. It measures CRP in the range from 0.5 to 10 mg/L. This test is used to evaluate individuals for risk of CVD.
CVD causes more deaths in the U.S. each year than any other cause, according to the American Heart Association. A number of risk factors, such as family history, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, having excess weight or diabetes, have been linked to the development of CVD, but a significant number of people who have few or no identified risk factors will also develop CVD. This fact has lead researchers to look for additional risk factors that might be either causing CVD or that could be used to determine lifestyle changes and/or treatments that could reduce CVD risk.
High-sensitivity CRP is one of a growing number of cardiac risk markers that are used to help determine a person’s risk. Some studies have shown that measuring CRP with a highly sensitive assay can help identify the risk level for CVD in apparently healthy people. This more sensitive test can measure CRP levels that are within the higher end of the reference range. These normal but slightly high levels of CRP in otherwise healthy individuals can predict the future risk of a heart attack, stroke, sudden cardiac death, and peripheral arterial disease, even when cholesterol levels are within an acceptable range.
hs-CRP could be a marker not only in apparently healthy people, recent studies have shown. Adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) with elevated CRP have worse functional status and exercise capacity, greater risk for death, or non-elective cardiovascular hospitalization.
Common Questions
Health Professionals – LOINC
LOINC Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC®) is the international standard for identifying health measurements, observations, and documents. It provides a common language to unambiguously identify things you can measure or observe that enables the exchange and aggregation of clinical results for care delivery, outcomes management, and research. Learn More.
Listed in the table below are the LOINC with links to the LOINC detail pages. Please note when you click on the hyperlinked code, you are leaving Testing.com and accessing Loinc.org.
LOINC | LOINC Display Name |
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71426-1 | CRP High sensitivity method (Bld) [Mass/Vol] |
30522-7 | CRP High sensitivity method [Mass/Vol] |
35648-5 | CRP High sensitivity method [Quintile] |
76486-0 | CRP High sensitivity method [Moles/Vol] |
View Sources
Sources Used in Current Review
2018 review completed by Rita Khoury, MD, DABCC FAACC. Laboratory Director, Aculabs. Inc.
Lin JS, Evans CV, Johnson E, et al. Nontraditional Risk Factors in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment: Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA 2018; 320:281.
US Preventive Services Task Force, Curry SJ, Krist AH, et al. Risk Assessment for Cardiovascular Disease With Nontraditional Risk Factors: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA 2018; 320:272.
Opotowsky AR, Valente AM, Alshawabkeh L, et al. Prospective cohort study of C-reactive protein as a predictor of clinical events in adults with congenital heart disease: results of the Boston adult congenital heart disease biobank. Eur Heart J 2018; 39:3253.
Pearson TA, Mensah GA, Alexander RW, et al. Markers of inflammation and cardiovascular disease: application to clinical and public health practice: a statement for healthcare professionals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2003;107(3): 499-511.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
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Ridker PM, Stampfer MJ, Rifai N. Novel risk factors for atherosclerosis: a comparison of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, homocysteine, lipoprotein(a), and standard cholesterol screening as predictors of peripheral arterial disease. JAMA 2001; 285:2481-2485. (May 16, 2001).
Ridker PM, Hennekens CH, Buring JE, and Rifai N. C-reactive protein and other markers of inflammation in the prediction of cardiovascular disease in women. NEJM 2000; 342:836-843. (March 23, 2000).
ARUP Lab fact sheet. Available online at http://www.aruplab.com/guides/clt.
American Heart Association Journal Report 01/28/2003. AHA/CDC panel issues recommendations on CRP testing. Available online at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3007984.
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. C-reactive protein. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003356.htm. Accessed December 2008.
The Evolving Role of High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in Cardiovascular Health: An Expert Interview With Paul M. Ridker, MD. Posted 01/03/2006. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/519642. Accessed December 2008.
Pagana, K. D. & Pagana, T. J. (© 2011). Mosby’s Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference 10th Edition: Mosby, Inc., Saint Louis, MO. Pp 319-321.
(© 1995-2012). Test ID: HSCRP C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity, Serum. Mayo Clinic Mayo Medical Laboratories [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Overview/82047. Accessed May 2012.
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Delgado, J. et. al. (Updated 2011 April). Cardiovascular Disease (Non-traditional Risk Markers) – Risk Markers – CVD (Non-traditional). ARUP Consult [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.arupconsult.com/Topics/CVDRiskMarkerNontrad.html?client_ID=LTD. Accessed May 2012.
Davidson, M. (2011 May 19). hs-CRP: What Is Proven and Unproven? Medscape Today from Circulation. 2011;123:731-738 [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/742591. Accessed May 2012.
Clarke, W., Editor (© 2011). Contemporary Practice in Clinical Chemistry 2nd Edition: AACC Press, Washington, DC. Pg 239.
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Delgado, J. et. al. (2014 November). Cardiovascular Disease (Non-traditional Risk Markers) – Risk Markers – CVD (Non-traditional). ARUP Consult [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.arupconsult.com/Topics/CVDRiskMarkerNontrad.html?client_ID=LTD. Accessed February 2015.
Yousuf, O. et. al. (2013). High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Cardiovascular Disease, A Resolute Belief or an Elusive Link? Medscape Multispecialty from J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013;62(5):397-408 [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/808448. Accessed February 2015.
(2014 August 4). Who Is at Risk for Atherosclerosis? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/atherosclerosis/atrisk. Accessed February 2015.
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