C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity (Cardiac)
High-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) detects very low levels of inflammation linked to cardiovascular disease risk. It is used to assess your risk of future heart attacks and strokes beyond traditional cholesterol testing.
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What the C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity (Cardiac) test tells you
C-reactive protein is made by the liver whenever the immune system is activated. The ordinary CRP test is built to detect the large surges that accompany infection, injury or a flare of an inflammatory illness. The high-sensitivity version measures the same protein with a far more delicate method, so it can read the small, steady amounts that circulate in people who feel entirely well. That quiet background level is what interests a cardiologist.
The reason is that furring of the arteries is an inflammatory process, not simply a build-up of fat. Immune cells settle in the artery wall, take up cholesterol particles and keep the area chronically irritated, which is what eventually makes a plaque unstable. People whose background inflammation sits persistently higher tend to have more heart attacks and strokes over the following years than people with the same cholesterol and blood pressure but a quieter baseline. hs-CRP is therefore used to sharpen a risk estimate, particularly when the standard risk factors leave someone in the middle of the range and the decision about preventive treatment could go either way.
Its weakness is the flip side of its strength: the protein rises with any inflammation at all. A chest infection, a dental abscess, a healing surgical wound, an arthritis flare or an unusually punishing workout will lift it far above anything cardiovascular risk would explain. For that reason the test is done when you are well, and doctors often repeat it on a separate occasion before letting it influence a decision. Weight, smoking, physical activity, sleep and treatment of other inflammatory conditions all move the number, and it is read alongside lipids, blood pressure, glucose and family history rather than on its own.
Recommended for cardiovascular risk stratification, especially when traditional risk factors place you in an intermediate-risk category.
- Sharpening a borderline estimate
When cholesterol and blood pressure place you in the middle of the risk range, hs-CRP can nudge the estimate up or down and help your doctor decide whether preventive treatment is worth starting.
- Inflammation you cannot feel
Low-grade inflammation produces no symptoms at all. A blood measurement is the only practical way to know it is there.
- Risk beyond cholesterol
Some people have events despite reasonable lipid results. hs-CRP describes a different part of the process and can explain part of that gap.
- Objective feedback on change
Losing weight, stopping smoking and becoming more active tend to lower the level, giving a measurable marker of progress rather than a guess.
Reasons your doctor may request the C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity (Cardiac) test
Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.
Refining intermediate risk
- Your calculated cardiovascular risk sits in the intermediate band and extra information could change what is recommended.
- There is heart attack or stroke in a parent or sibling at a relatively young age.
Metabolic risk factors
- You have features of metabolic syndrome such as central weight gain, raised blood pressure or unfavourable lipids.
Reviewing prevention
- Your doctor is reviewing whether to start or continue preventive treatment for heart and vessel disease.
- You are having a periodic health check and carry several cardiovascular risk factors.
A result in the Low risk band, 0 to 0.9 mg/L, points to very little background inflammation and sits with a lower cardiovascular risk estimate. Average risk, 1 to 3 mg/L, is where many well people fall. High risk, 3.1 to 10 mg/L, suggests a persistently busier inflammatory background, which over years tracks with more heart attacks and strokes among people whose other risk factors look similar. The figure is only meaningful when you are well. A chest or dental infection, a healing wound, an arthritis flare or an unusually hard training session in the days before the sample will lift it far above anything your heart risk would explain, so the test is taken away from illness and often repeated on a separate day. Weight, smoking and sleep move it too. Your doctor reads it alongside your lipids, blood pressure, glucose, family history and symptoms.
Medically reviewed by Dr Nirupama Sabhapathy
Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.
What a higher result can point to
- Any active infection, from a chest or urinary infection to an inflamed tooth.
- Recent surgery, injury or a burn while the tissue is still healing.
- A long-term inflammatory illness such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.
- Excess body fat and metabolic syndrome, because fat tissue itself releases inflammatory signals.
- Smoking, poor sleep and heavy unaccustomed exercise in the days before the sample.
- The chronic low-grade inflammation that accompanies established narrowing of the arteries.
These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.
What this test cannot tell you
- The test shows that inflammation is present but says nothing about where it comes from.
- A passing infection, an injury or a hard training session can lift the result far above its usual baseline, so a single high reading taken during illness should not be read as heart risk.
- A low result is reassuring about inflammation but does not exclude narrowing of the arteries, which can be present while inflammation is quiet.
- It is a risk marker, not a diagnostic test, and cannot confirm or rule out a heart problem by itself.
Risks of the blood draw
- Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
- Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
- Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
- 1hs-CRP and ordinary CRP measure the same protein; only the sensitivity of the method differs.
- 2It is most informative for people whose risk sits in the middle, where the result may actually change advice.
- 3Have the sample taken when you are well, away from infection, injury or unusual exertion.
- 4Doctors commonly repeat the measurement on a separate day before acting on it.
- 5A low result has no cause worth investigating; it simply means no measurable background inflammation that day.
C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity (Cardiac) is also part of these health checkups, which add a wider screen in the same appointment.
C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity (Cardiac) also comes in these focused packages, which pair it with the tests usually read alongside it.
- Immunology / SerologyC-Reactive Protein (CRP)
CRP is a protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation. Elevated levels indicate an active inflammatory process, which could be caused by…
60View - CardiacLipoprotein-A (Lp-A)
Lipoprotein(a) is a genetically determined lipid particle that independently increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Testing is recommended…
90View - CardiacApolipoprotein B (Apo B)
Apo B is the main protein in LDL ('bad') cholesterol and other atherogenic particles. Elevated levels indicate a higher number of dangerous…
75View - BiochemistryLipid Profile
A lipid profile measures total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides to assess cardiovascular risk. It is the standard test for monitoring heart…
89View
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the C-Reactive Protein, High Sensitivity (Cardiac) test. Can't find what you're looking for?
Talk to our team→Our laboratory reports 0 to 0.9 mg/L as low risk, 1 to 3 mg/L as average risk, where many well people fall, and 3.1 to 10 mg/L as high risk. These bands describe cardiovascular risk only when the sample is taken while you are well, away from infection, injury or unusual exertion.
Almost any inflammation raises it: a chest, urinary or dental infection, recent surgery, injury or a burn, and long-term conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease. Excess body fat, smoking, poor sleep and a heavy unaccustomed workout lift it too. The test shows inflammation is present but not where it comes from.
It is most useful for people whose heart risk sits in the middle, judged on cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose, smoking and family history, because that is where the result may actually change the advice. For people already clearly at low or high risk, it rarely alters what the doctor recommends.
No, it adds to a cholesterol test rather than replacing it. hs-CRP reflects background inflammation, while the lipid profile reflects the cholesterol that builds plaque, and your doctor reads both together with blood pressure and glucose. A low hs-CRP does not exclude narrowed arteries, which can be present while inflammation is quiet.
Wait until you feel fully well and the infection, dental treatment, injury or surgery is clearly behind you, and until any flare of an inflammatory condition has settled. A recent illness can lift the result far above anything your heart risk would explain, so testing too soon gives a misleading high reading.
They measure the same liver protein. The ordinary test is designed to pick up the large rises of infection and injury; the high-sensitivity method reads the much smaller amounts that persist in people who feel well, which is the part relevant to heart and vessel risk.
No. It indicates inflammation somewhere in the body and, when other causes are excluded, suggests a higher-than-average chance of future heart and vessel events. It cannot show whether a specific artery is narrowed; imaging and clinical assessment do that.
Often, yes. Losing excess weight, stopping smoking, regular physical activity, better sleep and treating other sources of inflammation such as gum disease all tend to reduce it. Statins lower it as well as lowering cholesterol. Any treatment decision belongs with your doctor.
Because a single reading can be lifted by something temporary and unrelated to the heart, such as a mild infection you barely noticed. Repeating it on a separate occasion, when you are well, gives a much better picture of your true baseline.
No, fasting is not needed and you can take your usual medicines. Avoid an unusually hard workout the day before, and tell the team if you take anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, hormone therapy or a statin, as these can shift the level.
The hs-CRP test is AED 75, including a physician-reviewed report, with results usually within 24 hours. Home collection anywhere in Dubai is free when your order reaches AED 300 or includes a package; below that, a AED 100 home collection fee applies (AED 50 for a lab walk-in).