C-reactive protein, cardiovascular disease and stroke: new roles for an old biomarker.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. A new and exciting development in cardiovascular disease is the recognition of the role of inflammation in atherosclerosis. C-reactive protein, an acute phase reactant, appears to be a promising biomarker for cardiovascular disease, possibly more predictive than cholesterol and also may play an etiological role. C-reactive protein also appears to be predictive of stroke risk, although less so in the elderly. Although the number of studies on stroke (apart from cardiovascular disease) is limited, there is a significant graded increase in stroke risk within the low-to-high normal range of C-reactive protein. C-reactive protein is readily amenable to treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin and statins. New and increasingly available high-sensitivity assays may make C-reactive protein a standard screening tool for cardiovascular disease.