---> Important blood test for heart issues
Inflammation markers
- C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
[Strep or staph bacteria marker]
---> Additional testing:
Heart
- B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)
- Creatine kinase (CK)
- ECG
- Stethoscopic exam of heart and lungs
----- Notes -----
CRP
Levels of CRP below 1.0 (<1.0)
- low risk, normal test
Levels of CRP above 1.0 (>1.0)
- Consistently predict new coronary events in patients whove had a heart attack.
- Are linked to lower survival rates of heart-attack victims.
- May increase the risk that an artery will reclose after its been opened by balloon angioplasty.
- Seem to predict recurrent events in patients with peripheral arterial disease.