Overview

• Women with elevated hsCRP had a 77% higher lifetime risk of coronary heart disease, 39% higher risk of stroke, and 52% higher risk of any major cardiovascular event.
• Participants were initially free of standard modifiable risk factors—smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes—yet inflammation still signaled substantial danger.
• The team reports from randomized trial analyses that statins reduced heart attack and stroke by about 38% in the SMuRF-less but inflamed subgroup.
• Findings were presented as late-breaking science at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and published in the European Heart Journal.
• Lead author Paul Ridker urges identifying at-risk women in their 40s so preventive care, including lifestyle changes and potential statin therapy, can start earlier.