The next time you’re in for a physical, ask your doctor about the hs-CRP blood test. An increasing number of physicians, including Michael Bauerschmidt, MD, at Full Potential Health Care in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are administering this test to their patients to to assess heart-disease risk. “With 75 percent of chronic diseases inflammatory in nature, the hs-CRP test should be just as common as measuring cholesterol,” says Bauerschmidt. A reading of 2.4 or greater, he says, means a higher risk of heart problems and warrants taking measures, like those discussed here, to reduce your levels.
