Inflammation Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Disease
Summary
Inflammation is now recognised as a central driver of atherosclerosis, plaque destabilisation and adverse sequelae in cardiovascular disease. Biomarkers of systemic inflammation, most notably high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and emerging lipid-related markers, offer insights into disease activity beyond traditional risk factors. Elevated hsCRP reflects persistent low-grade inflammation and correlates with endothelial dysfunction, increased thrombotic potential and progression of coronary lesions. Other indicators, such as cytokine profiles and acute-phase reactants, help to stratify patients at risk of myocardial infarction, heart failure or stroke. The integration of inflammatory biomarkers into clinical practice has enhanced risk prediction, personalised intensity of lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory therapies and guided novel drug development. Global observational studies reveal that up to 60 % of patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease exhibit hsCRP levels above accepted thresholds, underscoring a substantial residual inflammatory risk. In this context, the measurement of inflammation biomarkers informs both prognostic assessment and therapeutic decision-making, with potential to improve outcomes at a population scale.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have demonstrated that preprocedural levels of C-reactive protein in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction predict both in-hospital and longer-term major adverse cardiovascular events, suggesting that CRP measurement may refine risk stratification in acute care. Further work has established the ratio of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein to prealbumin as an independent predictor of in-hospital major adverse cardiac events in acute coronary syndrome, providing a composite index that surpasses the prognostic performance of either marker alone and may guide early therapeutic intensification.
Inflammation Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Disease publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in inflammation biomarkers in cardiovascular disease across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Biomarker: A measurable biological molecule that indicates normal or pathogenic processes or responses to therapy.
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP): A laboratory assay detecting low levels of C-reactive protein to assess chronic low-grade inflammation.
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): A catheter-based procedure to dilate coronary arteries and restore blood flow in obstructive coronary disease.
Interleukin-1β (IL-1β): A proinflammatory cytokine that mediates vascular inflammation and leukocyte recruitment.
Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE): A composite clinical endpoint often including myocardial infarction, stroke and cardiovascular death.
References
- Systemic inflammation and health outcomes in patients receiving treatment for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. European Heart Journal (2024).
- Antiinflammatory Therapy in Clinical Care: The CANTOS Trial and Beyond. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2018).
- Preprocedural C-Reactive Protein Predicts Outcomes after Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction a systematic meta-analysis. Scientific Reports (2017).
- Residual inflammatory risk in coronary heart disease: incidence of elevated high-sensitive CRP in a real-world cohort. Clinical Research in Cardiology (2019).
- Mortality risk prediction of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in suspected acute coronary syndrome: A cohort study. PLOS Medicine (2022).
- High sensitivity C-reactive protein to prealbumin ratio measurement as a marker of the prognosis in acute coronary syndrome. Scientific Reports (2019).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.