A big study showed that people with normal cholesterol but high hs-CRP levels were still at risk for heart problems.

When they used medicine called statins to lower the swelling, their chances of having a heart attack went down a lot. When your body gets hurt or sick, it makes a special substance called CRP in your liver.

The high-sensitivity CRP test (hs-CRP) measures even tiny amounts of this substance. If there’s a lot of it, it could mean there’s hidden swelling inside your arteries, which can make your heart sick over time—even if you feel perfectly fine! To stay healthy and reduce the chances of this swelling, you can eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, play outside and exercise, not smoke, stay at a healthy weight, and follow your doctor’s advice. Doctors usually check your cholesterol to see if your heart is healthy.

But now, scientists have found another thing in your blood called hs-CRP that can tell us even more about heart health. This special test looks for tiny signs of swelling inside your body that might hide and cause problems later, like a heart attack.