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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Elevated CRP with Family History of CAD
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Elevated CRP with Family History of CAD
by InDireNeed, Apr 25, 2002 12:00AM
Recently I had some lab work done by a G.I. specialist for stomach related problems and one of the tests done was a C-Reactive protein level test. I received the results from a friend who works at the hospital but have not spoken with the G.I. spec. as of yet. My reason for concern is that the CRP level is 26.70 and the range states it should be between 0-7.9. I believe that I am in a very high risk category for heart problems because my mother was diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease when she was only 38 and had 2 quad bypass surgeries and 2 angioplasties. I have done some searching on the interent and found recent reports indicating that an elevated CRP level can be a predicator of a heart attack. One article states a 5-fold increase of developing Cardiovascular Disease in women with the highest CRP levels. I am 31 years old, about 50lbs overweight and have been experiencing pressure in my chest and lightheadedness on and off for a year or so. Most recent problems though, have only been g.i. related. Back when I was experiencing the pressure in my chest I told my PCP. He told me I probably pulled a muscle lifting my 1year old. On return for same issue, they ran an ekg and said that it was fine other than a little bit of an irregular heartbeat. My heart seems to pause and then kick back into rythym. Seeing what my Mom went through terrifies me and I am scared to death that I may be following in her footsteps. My PCP does not seem to be concerned about this, what do I do? And what does this all mean? Should I be a concerned as I am?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-CRC, Apr 25, 2002 12:00AM
Dear Dire,
This is a very elevated CRP and I too would be concerned. Did you have some type of infection (e.g. cold) at the time the test was drawn? Do you have any rheumatological conditions? Given the family history I would not take your chest pains lightly. Your cardiac status needs to be evaluated before other causes of your symptoms are looked for. I would ask your PCP for a referral to a cardiologist so that this can be sorted out.
This is a very elevated CRP and I too would be concerned. Did you have some type of infection (e.g. cold) at the time the test was drawn? Do you have any rheumatological conditions? Given the family history I would not take your chest pains lightly. Your cardiac status needs to be evaluated before other causes of your symptoms are looked for. I would ask your PCP for a referral to a cardiologist so that this can be sorted out.
You didn't say anything about your cholesterol readings. HDL cholesterol is probably the best predictor of CAD risk. It should be at least 40. If it's 60, you probably don't have to worry. If it's 30, watch out!
You know what you have to do. Get on a diet, daily exercise, and get your lipids under control. If your ldl is high, get on a statin drug. If your HDL is low, get on Niaspan.
It's important to do that now while there is still time.
My mother had CAD, several heart attacks and bypass surgery. I had an event at 32, which was most likely a heart attack. I stayed in bed for almost a week. At 50 I had another episode which I was hospitalized for and turned out to be a heart attack. Several EKGs had shown evidence of a prior heart attack and an subsequent catheritization revealed a totally occluded artery, which I was told had probably been that way for many years.
With the drugs available today, and permanent diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes, you can duck that bullet. It's not necessary to go down the road your mother did.
Best of Luck
06/01 68.7, 10/01 66.5, 1/02 72.1, 4/02 84.0 with normal range being between 54.0-62.0. Lymphocytes 6/01 27.5, 10/01 29.1, 1/02 22.6, 4/02 11.0 with normal range being between 25.0-33.0. Monocytes 3.1, 3.0, 3.8, 1.0. with normal range 3.0-7.0. Also there is a test called ABS NEUT CT 16.20 with a normal range of 1.8-7. Glucose 110, and finally Cholesterol 213 both 2/01 & 4/02, HDL 41 2/01, HDL 54 4/02, LDL 132 2/01 & LDL 143 4/02. I have no idea what all of this means and I don't seem to have the nerve to stand up to my doc and ask. Any ideas?
So on both 2/1 and 4/2 your total cholesterol was in the high category and ldl was in the borderline high category. Your HDL is above minimum standards, but just barely.
If you have no liver problems I would suggest a low dose of Lipitor to get the T/C and LDL down. The statins also lower your risk of heart attack and seem to have an effect on inflammation as picked up on your reactive protein test.
If you start doing 30 minutes or more of daily walking, you will raise your HDL somewhat. If you want to raise it significantly higher than that, Niaspan would be the best choice, but it can be rough to get used to large doses of Niacin.
With your heredity problem, I would say that you should try to get your TC down to 160 or below and your LDL down around 100.
The best thing that you can do besides that is start working toward an ideal body weight. When I had my heart attack, I was classified as obese at 245 lbs. That's just asking for it.
You have time to work on this and avoid a bad outcome, but you have to start now and make it a lifelong priority. It's much better to learn about this and start making changes at a young age.
There are several cholesterol guides available on the web and phamplets from your doctor. Here is a URL for one at Heart Info.
http://www.heartinfo.com/search/display.asp?Id=1114
Good Luck To You.
My father died at 39 of a heart attack. mo family history. My wonderful son in law (36 years old) had a heart attack in January...No family history and his parents are in their eighties and still swinging. His tryglercides(sp) were 430 which were too high. His HDL was 40 and even though this is acceptable it should be higher. His LDL was 135. Just a tad over the normal range. His PCP knew all this but wanted him to exercise more. Little did anyone know what was about to happen to him. He had 100% blockage in the main artery. They stented the blockage at an ok small hospital but then I had him seen at the Texas Heart Institute and is now under their care.
Trying to piece this puzzle together for WHY this happeend to an active, non smoker who watched his diet, I feel a severe viral infection he had 5 years ago and treated for months with cortisone may well of been a contributing factor to his blockage.
Your glucose is high normal. Did you fast 8-10 hours before your blood work? I had a glucose of 100 last year and the doctor repeated this as he would like to see glucose unde