Inflammatory Markers for Cardiovascular Risk Assessment

Current Guideline Recommendations

The American Heart Association recommends hsCRP as the inflammatory marker with the most suitable analyte and assay characteristics for clinical use, based on standardization, precision, and extensive validation 1, 2, 3.
HsCRP has established risk stratification cutpoints: <1 mg/L (low risk), 1-3 mg/L (moderate risk), and >3 mg/L (high risk) for cardiovascular disease, as recommended by clinical guidelines 4, 5.
The American Heart Association recommends hsCRP measurement (Class IIa) specifically in intermediate-risk patients (10-20% 10-year CHD risk) when additional risk stratification is needed to guide therapy decisions 4, 5.

No randomized clinical trials have tested whether GlycA-guided therapy improves patient outcomes (morbidity, mortality, or quality of life), as noted by the American College of Cardiology 1, 6, 2.
Established clinical cutpoints for risk stratification do not exist for GlycA, unlike hsCRP's well-defined thresholds, according to the American Heart Association 4, 5.
GlycA has not been shown to meet screening criteria or demonstrate reduction in morbidity and mortality through clinical trials, as required by the CDC/AHA framework 6, 7.

The American College of Cardiology recommends using hsCRP, not GlycA, for inflammatory risk assessment in cardiovascular disease 1, 2, 3, 4.
The American Heart Association recommends measuring hsCRP in patients with 10-20% 10-year CHD risk when additional risk stratification would influence treatment decisions 4, 5.
The American College of Cardiology interprets hsCRP using established cutpoints: <1 mg/L (low), 1-3 mg/L (moderate), >3 mg/L (high cardiovascular risk) 4, 5.

Serial testing of inflammatory markers should not be used to monitor treatment effects, as recommended by the American College of Cardiology 4.
The nonspecificity of elevated inflammatory markers may necessitate expensive searches for non-cardiovascular causes when applied to individual patients, according to the American Heart Association 6, 7.