Markers · Inflammation
An hs-CRP of 2.1, flagged intermediate risk. hs-CRP, read against the rest of you.
What hs-CRP measures, what it does in the body, why it's tested, and the two ranges it's read against. Everything said about the marker here comes from Merlin's own biomarker catalogue.
What hs-CRP is
hs-CRP is a highly sensitive measure of C-reactive protein, a protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation anywhere in the body. Elevated levels indicate systemic low-grade inflammation, which is strongly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and other chronic conditions. Unlike standard CRP, the high-sensitivity assay can detect even small elevations that are clinically meaningful for cardiovascular risk stratification.
What it does in the body
CRP is an acute-phase reactant synthesized by hepatocytes in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines, particularly IL-6 and TNF-alpha. It plays a role in the innate immune response by binding to damaged cells and pathogens to activate the complement system and facilitate phagocytosis. Chronically elevated hs-CRP reflects persistent low-grade systemic inflammation implicated in endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, and plaque destabilization.
Why it's tested
hs-CRP is used primarily to assess cardiovascular disease risk beyond traditional lipid panels, to monitor chronic inflammatory conditions, to guide statin therapy decisions (as in the JUPITER trial), and to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory lifestyle and pharmacological interventions.
The two ranges
The reference range reflects population statistics. The target reflects physiology.
- Lab reference range
- < 3.0 mg/L (low cardiovascular risk); 1.0-3.0 mg/L (intermediate risk); > 3.0 mg/L (high risk); > 10 mg/L may indicate acute infection or injury
- Functional target
- < 0.8 mg/L
Those are different numbers, and you deserve to know which one you're looking at. Merlin reads your result against both.
Where this lives
A Field Guide to Atherosclerotic Risk
The field guide that covers hs-CRP in depth, whole and public.
In a real read
hs-CRP is in the real Cardiovascular read on this site at 0.4 mg/L, which the read calls protective, and the score gives it credit. It's also one of the markers tagged to retest in three months.
A real Cardiovascular surface from a real anonymized panel: the score, the narrative, the layers underneath. Yours will be built the same way, on your own numbers.
Educational context for your conversations with your licensed healthcare provider, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Merlin reads results; it doesn't diagnose.
No hs-CRP result yet? You can order it inside Merlin: it's on Heart Health Essentials ($100) and Merlin Core ($180).
Bring the panel this number came from. Merlin reads it against everything else you have, every system and every year, then shows you what it means and what's worth finding out next. Start with your first month.