Elevated circulating creatine kinase activity

What it means

The activity of creatine kinase in the blood circulation is above the upper limit of normal.

Elevated serum creatine kinase (CK) activity is usually an indicator of muscle damage. Diseases with very high CK values include subtypes of muscular dystrophies, idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and metabolic myopathies. However, a normal or only slightly elevated CK value does not exclude the presence of a myopathy. The normal range in the blood circulation is 34-171 U/l in males and 34-145 U/l in females, but may vary according to the test used.

Rare diseases that can present with this121

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions, and Orphanet separately records 1 disease where this sign is specifically absent. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Elevated circulating creatine phosphokinase · Elevated creatine kinase · Elevated creatine kinase concentration · Elevated creatine kinase level · Elevated creatine kinase level in blood · Elevated serum CPK · Elevated serum creatine kinase · Elevated serum creatine phosphokinase