BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Half of all strokes and heart attacks occur in people with normal cholesterol -- a troubling statistic that has caused scientists to search for other markers of heart disease risk.

One candidate, called C-reactive protein or CRP, was recently put to the test in an international study of people with normal cholesterol but high CRP levels.

The results were stunning. Patients taking high doses of the statin drug Crestor lowered their cholesterol by 50 percent and their CRP levels by 37 percent -- which cut their rate of heart attacks and strokes by more than half.

Now some experts are calling for all adults to have their CRP levels tested. But others have claimed such a move would be premature.

It's not clear that CRP is what made the difference because patients' cholesterol levels dropped as well.

Also, those taking Crestor were more likely to develop diabetes, and the side effects of long-term aggressive statin therapy -- especially in otherwise healthy people at low risk for heart disease -- are still unknown.