Learn how to check inflammation in the body with a simple blood test for C reactive protein (CRP).
Normally we think of inflammation as the swelling seen after an injury, e.g., a sprained ankle or a mosquito bite. In reality, whenever there is an injury, clearly visible or not, the immune system uses inflammation as a way to heal the injury.
The causes of inflammation can be simple things such as the extra weight we gained or the plaque slowly building in the arteries as we get old. Some experts believe a constant, low level inflammation—that keeps switching on our immune system—is cause of many health problems (1).
Here we discuss inflammation in detail and talk about a simple blood test for inflammation and CRP, C-reactive protein, to stay healthy.
There are two types of inflammation (2):
Acute inflammation - for example from an injury such as a twisted ankle, or an insect bite. These are very obvious because you will see swelling and redness in the area, and it may hurt when you walk. Sometimes you may have fever and need to rest or get a medicine to heal it. The good thing about acute inflammation is that you normally recover in a few days.
Chronic inflammation - is often subtle but tends to be always there. It maybe caused by auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus and the symptoms may come and go. Other causes of chronic inflammation are excess weight and the plaque building up in arteries from high cholesterol. These can be very difficult to confirm but a blood test for high-sensitivity C reactive protein might be used for such low levels of inflammation.
There are five common signs of inflammation that are very well known:
Redness - from expansion or dilation of arteries for blood to flow at the injured spot. This helps in healing, because the extra blood at this spot brings infection fighting cells and removes damaged tissue.
Swelling - as blood vessels expand, they leak fluid into the outside tissues causing a bump or swelling in the area of injury.
Pain - damage to the cells and tissues affects the nerves which causes pain.
Fever - if the injury is severe, you may see an increase in body temperature. Fever is part of our immune system trying to prioritize healing. The tissues in the injured area release interlukin-1 (IL-1) which notifies the immune system to send white blood cells and other defense cells to attack pathogens and clean up the debris to heal the wounded site. C reactive protein (CRP) is one of the molecules formed from IL-1 and can be detected to confirm inflammation caused by injury.
Loss of function - as the body tries to heal the inflammation, organs and tissues may not function properly (e.g., joints become stiff and difficult to move).
The symptoms of inflammation were well known in antiquity. Two thousand years ago, Roman scholar Aulus Cornelius Celsus, wrote the cardinal signs of inflammation.
In Latin (3), these are called rubor (redness), tumor (swelling), calor (heat or fever), dolor (pain), and functio laesa (loss of function—which was later added by Galen).
Other symptoms of inflammation include fatigue, joint pain, chest and abdominal pain, skin rashes and "fluor", which is Latin word for secretion of fluids from nose, lungs, gut, etc.
There are four stages of inflammation: damage, inflammation, resolution of inflammation, and repair.
It's the repair part that leaves debris on the walls of blood vessels that cause plaque or atherosclerosis.
In chronic inflammation, the body is continuously sending signals of inflammation and the immune system is sending chemicals for repair (4). Some of these are very sticky and over time deposit on the walls of blood vessels. Therefore, the goal is to avoid inflammation. But how do you know if you have it or not?
C-reactive protein acts as a thermometer to gauze inflammation in the body. Whenever our immune system responds to any signals of injury, one of the symptoms—calor or heat or fever—generates interlukin-1 which then converts into C-reactive protein. Even very small amounts of CRP can be easily measured.
Studies show CRP values between 3 and 10 increase the risk of heart disease by sixty percent.
Therefore, low levels of inflammation, that are otherwise undetectable, should be confirmed with a blood test for high-sensitivity C reactive protein.
Order an at-home test for Inflammation and Vitamin D.
CRP, Inflammation, and Risk of Heart Disease - a comprehensive review of C-reactive protein.
Obesity and the Risk of Heart Disease - how weight impacts heart health.
Cardiovascular Disease and Vitamin D - a comprehensive review of the role Vitamin D plays in heart health.
Genetic Variants of Heart Disease - a detailed look at the critical role genes play in heart diseases.
Inflammation in the Body – how & why of inflammation.
APoE, Alzheimer's, Dementia, and CVD - the complex role of APoE gene.
Raw and Red-Hot: Could inflammation be the cause of myriad chronic conditions? by Jonathan Shaw, Harvard Magazine, MAY-JUNE 2019.
Inflammation: Encyclopaedia Britannica.
The Five Cardinal Signs of Inflammation: Calor, Dolor, Rubor, Tumor … and Penuria (Apologies to Aulus Cornelius Celsus, De medicina, c. A.D. 25), by Russell P. Tracy, The Journals of Gerontology, 2006.
Fundamentals of Inflammation - Charles N. Serhan, Peter A. Ward, Derek W. Gilroy, editors (Reviewed by Laura Ciaccia), 2010, Cambridge University Press: New York.
