Abstract-Inflammation is a recognized key component of acute coronary syndromes. Such pathogenetic achievement has led to the use of inflammatory cells and proteins as prognostic markers in these syndromes. A number of markers have been proposed, including proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6, interleukin-1RA, and tumor necrosis factor-␣, adhesion molecules such as intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular adhesion molecule-1 and markers of cell activation. Although all are of scientific interest, the clinical use of these markers is limited by their high cost, low availability, and unfavorable biological profile. Conversely, common markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein (CRP), the prototypic acute phase protein, and to a lesser extent fibrinogen, have been proven to be reliable and important markers of risk in ischemic heart disease. CRP, in particular, has been found to be associated with short-and long-term prognosis in acute coronary syndromes, including ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and in stable angina, and to predict the risk of restenosis and major events, including death, after revascularization procedures. CRP has been consistently found to be independent from other risk factors and to have an incremental value beyond the common risk factors and biochemical markers of risk, including troponin. Whether CRP also should be used as a guide to therapy is still a matter of discussion that deserves further, properly designed studies. Key Words: AHA Scientific Statements Ⅲ inflammation Ⅲ revascularization Ⅲ angina Ⅲ risk factors S hort-and long-term prediction of risk in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is a challenging clinical problem. Despite diagnostic and therapeutic advances, the rate of event recurrence is still relatively high (in the range of 14% to 16% at 6 months 1,2 ). The growing evidence that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of most of the cases of ACS 3 led to the use of inflammatory mediators as markers of risk in these syndromes. 4 As consistent data have been accumulated in this area, risk prediction in ischemic heart disease and in ACS in particular represents the main use of inflammatory markers in cardiovascular medicine. More recently, sparse but intriguing data have been published suggesting that inflammatory markers may represent a marker of risk in other cardiovascular conditions.
C-Reactive ProteinA number of inflammatory mediators have been studied as markers of risk in ischemic heart disease. They are discussed separately. Although many of them are of potential clinical interest (discussed below), C-reactive protein (CRP) is the inflammatory marker most extensively assessed in prognostic studies and is an almost perfect marker of inflammation (it has a half-life of 19 hours and is neither consumed nor produced during the reaction). This is the result, in part, of analytical reasons because of the availability of high-sensitivity, relatively low-cost methods for its measurement and in part because of its biological pr...