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Healthy people have very little CRP in their blood: a value of 0.8 to 1.0 milligram per decilitre (mg/dl) or lower is seen as a healthy amount. If your value comes out above that, it can point to inflammation in your body.[1]
On this page you can read what hs-CRP is, what the guidelines say about a value that is too low or too high, what influences your value and which values are best placed next to it.
Also known as: high-sensitivity CRP, hs-CRP, C-reactive protein in serum. At the lab: CRP.
CRP stands for C-reactive protein. Your liver makes this protein in response to inflammation. A CRP test measures how much CRP there is in a small amount of your blood. That way a healthcare provider can see how much inflammation there is in your body.[1]
The high sensitivity version, hs-CRP, measures the same protein, but very small rises. The ordinary CRP test and the high sensitivity test are sometimes confused with each other, while they are used for different questions: hs-CRP is used to estimate your risk of a condition of the heart.[1]
CRP is one of the acute phase proteins. The protein is stable and can be measured well with several high sensitivity tests that are on the market. That is why CRP is at this moment the inflammatory marker of choice.[2]
Inflammation is the way your body protects your tissue and helps it recover, for example after a small cut in your skin: the spot turns red and swells up. Short and sudden like that, inflammation is useful.[1]
When inflammation lasts too long, it can damage healthy tissue. That is called chronic inflammation. It comes most often from conditions in which the body's own defence system attacks the body, and it can also start when tissue is hit or irritated again and again, for example by smoking or by substances in your surroundings.[1]
Inflammation plays a key role in a condition of the blood vessels in which the vessel wall changes. Many clinical studies show that CRP is useful as a risk marker for this.[2]
Your result tells you how much inflammation there is, not where it is or what causes it. That is why a healthcare provider looks at your CRP together with other test results, your symptoms and your history. If your CRP falls, that is a sign that the care for the inflammation is working or that you are recovering on your own.[1]
Labplusarts, the laboratory BioProfile works with, uses a reference value of 0 to 3 mg/l for hs-CRP. A value between those limits is what the lab calls normal.[3]
| Value | What it can mean | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 0.8 to 1.0 mg/dl or lower[1] | Is seen as a healthy amount of CRP | Healthy people, who in general have very little CRP in their blood |
| Higher than normal[1] | Can point to inflammation in your body, acute or long lasting | Anyone whose value comes out above the healthy amount |
| A value that is falling[1] | Can be a sign that the care for the inflammation is working or that you are recovering on your own | People whose value is followed during their care |
MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine), general explanation of the CRP test; the result does not give a diagnosis.[1]
With CRP, low is the usual picture. Healthy people in general have very little CRP in their blood, and a value of 0.8 to 1.0 mg/dl or lower is seen as a healthy amount. So this source gives no limit below which your value would be too low.[1]
A value above normal can point to inflammation, acute or long lasting. That can belong to a condition caused by bacteria or viruses, to a condition of the bowels, to conditions in which the body's own defence system attacks the body, or to a disease of the lungs. Smoking and exposure to toxic substances in your surroundings can give a high value too. What your result does not say is where the inflammation is or what causes it.[1]
BioProfile is working on its own zones for each value, from risk to optimal. A doctor reviews those zones before they appear in your result.
Your CRP rises and falls with the amount of inflammation in your body. That is why the value is also used to keep an eye on things after an operation, or to follow how a value develops during the care for a long lasting condition.[1]
Some medicines can influence your result. So tell your healthcare provider which supplements and medicines you use, including magnesium and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin. Do not stop taking prescription medicines without talking to your healthcare provider about it first.[1]
Smoking and exposure to toxic substances in your surroundings, such as polluted air and hazardous waste, can give high CRP values. Tissue that is irritated again and again, for example by smoking or by substances in the air, can lead to long-lasting inflammation.[1]
A rise can also go together with sleeping badly, with a mood that stays low for a long time, with hormones around the menopause and with a high body weight. People of the female sex often have slightly higher CRP values than people of the male sex.[1]
hs-CRP is in all five packages, from BioProfile 31 to BioProfile 150.[4]
The BioProfile editorial team wrote this page on 30 September 2026 from the sources below, which we read on 30 September 2026. Every number on this page appears in one of those sources, with the number of that source next to it. An expert still has to review this page; after that review, the name of that expert and the date of the review appear at the top. This page gives an explanation, not a diagnosis. Discuss an abnormal value with your GP.
