How Is C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Related to the Risk of Hypertension?
In the last decade or so several studies have suggested that hypertension or high blood pressure, is in part an inflammatory disorder. As early as 1997 it was found that the risk of having a future stroke went up with increasing levels of hs-CRP in apparently healthy men. This finding was confirmed in a large study of healthy women by 2002. Since hypertension is a major risk factor for the development of stroke, these outcomes suggested to doctors that inflammation (indicated by high hs-CRP levels) and hypertension may be working together to increase the chances of having a stroke. In more recent major studies done in initially healthy women, those having a high hs-CRP level on top of high blood pressure were at much greater risk of having a future event such as a heart attack or stroke. Furthermore, the risk of developing hypertension in the future was greater in those individuals having higher hs-CRP levels, even in the presence of low blood pressure in the beginning. These studies h
