Cardiovascular inflammation plays a central role in the development and progression of ASCVD8,9. Multiple studies have shown that people with CV inflammation face an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attack, stroke and CV death3-5. Inflammation also contributes to CKD progression, and CKD itself may promote inflammation, creating a cycle that amplifies CV risk9.<\/p>\n
It also plays a key role in heart failure, and it is common across all types of heart failure, particularly in people with obesity, kidney disease and other metabolic conditions1,10.<\/p>\n
“POSEIDON makes clear that inflammation is not a peripheral concern – it is a shared driver of risk affecting millions of patients worldwide with cardiovascular disease who remain vulnerable despite our best current therapies,” said Professor Carolyn S.P. Lam, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, National Heart Centre Singapore; and Professor, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disorders Signature Research Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School. “What is striking is the consistency of inflammatory signals across such diverse patient populations. That consistency points to a practical way forward – identifying patients most likely to benefit from therapies that directly target inflammation. This reframes how we should think about residual cardiovascular risk, and it underscores the promise of emerging anti-inflammatory therapies to address a real unmet need.”<\/p>\n
The growing recognition of the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease is reflected in recent guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), which include elevated hsCRP as a risk-modifying biomarker to guide more intensive preventive initiatives11,12.<\/p>\n
About POSEIDON<\/p>\n
POSEIDON is a large, multinational, cross-sectional observational real-world evidence study designed to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of high inflammatory risk (defined as hsCRP \u22652 mg\/L) in patients with ASCVD, with and without CKD and\/or heart failure. The study enrolled 18,904 patients across 18 countries between 2023 and 2025. Patients with recent infections, hospitalisations or unplanned medical visits were excluded to ensure that inflammatory markers reflected CV inflammation rather than acute conditions1,2.<\/p>\n
About cardiovascular inflammation<\/p>\n
Cardiovascular inflammation is increasingly recognised as a key driver of ASCVD and a major contributor to persistent cardiovascular risk in people receiving standard preventive therapies. It also plays a key role in heart failure, and it is common across all types of heart failure (preserved, mildly reduced or reduced), particularly in people with obesity, kidney disease and other metabolic conditions. hsCRP is the most widely available blood test and validated biomarker of CV inflammation. Levels of CV inflammation \u22652 mg\/L are associated with increased risk of major adverse CV events, including heart attack, stroke and CV death4-6.<\/p>\n
Despite standard of care management of traditional risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar, many people with ASCVD continue to face elevated CV risk driven in part by persistent inflammation2,3,7. The same is true for people with any type of heart failure, where CV inflammation is associated with more severe symptoms and an increase in the overall CV risk1.<\/p>\n
About Novo Nordisk<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark.\u00a0Our\u00a0purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases built upon our heritage in diabetes.\u00a0We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines,\u00a0and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease.\u00a0Novo Nordisk employs about\u00a067,900\u00a0people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit\u00a0novonordisk.com<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0YouTube<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Contacts for further information<\/p>\n _______________________<\/p>\n References<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lam CSP, Contreras J, Darwesh R, et al. Prevalence and Predictors of High Inflammatory Risk in Heart Failure Subtypes: Findings From the Global POSEIDON Study. Eur J Heart Fail. 2026.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Navar A, Bai L, H\u00f8jen J, et al. Global Prevalence of Elevated High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in Patients with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, With and Without Chronic Kidney Disease: Findings From the POSEIDON Study. Late breaker oral presentation at the European Atherosclerosis Society 2026; May 24-27 2026; Athens, Greece.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ridker PM. Clinician’s Guide to Reducing Inflammation to Reduce Atherothrombotic Risk: JACC Review Topic of the Week. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;72(25):3320-3331.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ridker PM, Bhatt DL, Pradhan AD, et al. Inflammation and cholesterol as predictors of cardiovascular events among patients receiving statin therapy: a collaborative analysis of three randomised trials. Lancet. 2023;401(10384):1293-1301.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ridker PM, Lei L, Louie MJ, et al. Inflammation and Cholesterol as Predictors of Cardiovascular Events Among 13 970 Contemporary High-Risk Patients With Statin Intolerance. Circulation. 2024;149(1):28-35.<\/p>\n
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