C-reactive protein (CRP) is a blood protein produced when inflammation in the body occurs. It helps your immune system respond to infection or injury and fight off foreign invaders like bacteria or dead cells. CRP levels rise and fall in tandem with the amount of inflammation in your body.

Your healthcare crp prise de sang provider may order this test to check for infection, assess the risk of heart disease, and monitor flare-ups of inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. It can also help guide treatment for sepsis, a life-threatening complication of bacterial infections that causes widespread inflammation in the body. Your health care provider may use a more sensitive measurement of C-reactive protein to check for cardiovascular disease, called high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).

“Understanding CRP Blood Tests: What You Need to Know About Inflammation and Your Health

A blood sample is taken from your arm using a needle. The procedure is usually done by a lab technician or phlebotomist, a person trained to draw blood. The phlebotomist cleans the area over your vein with antiseptic and wraps an elastic band around your arm, which forces your veins to bulge out slightly. They then insert the needle and collect a small amount of blood in a test tube. You may feel a brief pinching sensation when the needle is inserted. The site where the needle was inserted may throb or sting for a few minutes afterward.

A high CRP level shows that inflammation is present in your body but can’t tell you where the inflammation is located or what is causing it. Your healthcare provider will look at your results with the results of other tests, symptoms and medical history to make a diagnosis.