These are not the joyful, helpful SMuRFs of your childhood.

High blood pressure , high cholesterol, diabetes and a smoking habit are what’s known as standard modifiable risk factors (SMuRFs) for cardiovascular disease (CVD). These four common behaviors increase the odds that you’ll have a heart attack or stroke .

Yet a significant portion of cardiac events occur in people without SMuRFs. A new study from Mass General Brigham reveals one reason why. 3

The researchers found that many women at risk of a heart episode have high levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a marker of inflammation, in their blood.

“Women who suffer from heart attacks and strokes yet have no standard modifiable risk factors are not identified by the risk equations doctors use in dail

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