Ask a Texas Heart Institute Doctor
Informed patients make better patients.
Question:
Would intravascular ultrasound be helpful? My C reactive protein is high.
Hi, I am wondering about high sensitivity C reactive protein test and heart disease. I just had this test done and the results were 23.3. The nurse kept saying the doctor said it is not my heart but diet and exercise. I do have CAD. I had open heart in 2005 for a block in the left main. In 2006 they stented the LAD because they said the LIMA graft failed to mature. The stent is 100 percent blocked and the LAD is diffused and small. Also 30 to 40 percent blockages in the RCA and left circumflex. I had a nuclear stress done with no changes due to pain across my chest down my left arm, when I walk less than a half block (three houses down to be exact). I have heard about intravascular ultrasound and was wondering if the test would be more useful due to the high C reactive test?
submitted by Chris from Illinois 6/24/2012
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, George Younis, MD
CRP can be a useful test in patients without known heart disease, but is not really informative or instructive in someone with an established complex cardiac history. Your CRP tells me you should take all your medications, especially the statins. The CRP does not suggest that IVUS (intravascular ultrasound) would be useful. That is a tool used for analyzing arteries in the cath lab and only your cardiologist can decide if that would benefit you. From what you've written, I don't think so.
See also on this site:
Has your question or a similar one already been answered?
Search all the Heart Doctor questions and answers.
To search for a doctor or access St. Luke's physician referral service, use the "Find a Doctor" link at the top of this page.
Updated June 2012
