Does C-reactive protein (CRP) predict whether HIV-positive patients will have heart attacks?
Perhaps the most intriguing presentation was from Dr. Virginia Triant from Harvard, who reported on blood C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and myocardial infarction (heart attack) risk.[1] CRP is in the news with the publication of the JUPITER trial.[2] In JUPITER, patients in the general population who had high CRP levels but relatively normal cholesterol levels had about a 50% reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke when they received the cholesterol-reducing statin drug rosuvastatin. In the general population, statin class drugs reduce CRP levels in addition to their well-known beneficial effects on cholesterol levels. Generally speaking, levels of CRP in the blood reflect the amount of inflammation going on in the body. CRP itself is involved in some of the atherosclerosis-producing processes in the blood vessel wall. Increased CRP levels have been proven to be associated with increased MI risk in the general population for many years, but the blood test still
