Reducing inflammation in the body can be as protective against heart disease as lowering cholesterol, two studies have found, sparking new debate over strategies to monitor and prevent cardiovascular disease.The results of the studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, add weight to the argument that doctors should consider routinely monitoring inflammation in the same way they test cholesterol.Inflammation, which is usually a positive reaction that occurs when the body is fighting infection or healing an injury, can be reduced in the same way as cholesterol is lowered - eating well, exercising, losing weight and quitting smoking, experts said.Researchers are now looking at new drugs to target inflammation, which produces a C-reactive protein (CRP)."For the first time we have hard clinical evidence that lowering inflammation lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke and cardiovascular disease,” said Paul Ridker, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who led one of the studies.
