An international team of researchers reported this week that a substance measured in the blood, called high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, is a highly reliable early warning sign of heart disease. Here’s what makes the finding especially important: Elevated hs-CRP spells trouble even in people who have normal cholesterol.

 

Fortunately, a treatment is already at hand. In the study, which included 17,802 patients from 27 different countries, putting patients with elevated hs-CRP but normal cholesterol on a cholesterol-lowering statin drug cut their risk of heart disease by 44 percent. 

 

Why would a cholesterol-lowering drug help people with normal cholesterol? Researchers have long suspected that statins work both by lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation, which is now believed to be a key player in heart disease. Indeed, hs-CRP is a marker for inflammation. 

 

Experts say more research is needed to confirm the encouraging findings. Still, when you get your cholesterol checked, it’s worth asking your doctor about a test for hs-CRP. If yours is high, you may want to join the swelling ranks of people on statins, now among the most prescribed drugs in the world.

Tags: cholesterol, heart disease, hs-CRP, risk factor, statin