Elevated C-Reactive Protein Linked to Increased Risk for Incident Heart Failure, All-Cause Mortality

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 30, 2026 (HealthDay News) — For adults with an increased cardiovascular risk, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are associated with an elevated risk for incident heart failure and all-cause mortality, according to a study recently published online in the International Journal of Cardiology.

Matteo Busti, from the Université de Lorraine in Nancy, France, and colleagues examined whether persistent CRP elevation is associated with incident heart failure in a study involving 64,743 adults aged 40 to 80 years with available body mass index, at least two cardiovascular risk factors, and at least two consecutive CRP measurements within the same predefined range. Participants were categorized as having low or elevated CRP (0.1 to 3.0 mg/L or 3.1 to 10.0 mg/L); each group included 19,547 participants after matching.

The researchers found that the risks for incident heart failure, all-cause mortality, and their composite were increased in association with elevated CRP (hazard ratios, 1.34, 1.90, and 1.49, respectively). Directionally consistent associations were observed for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in exploratory phenotype-specific analyses (hazard ratios, 1.53 and 1.44, respectively). A stronger association was suggested among participants without obesity in exploratory subgroup analyses.

“These findings may suggest the prognostic relevance of persistent CRP elevation and warrant further investigation of the relationship between low-grade inflammation and heart failure development,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text