Educational information only. At Precursor, blood testing is requested and reviewed by a clinician and considered alongside your history and other markers, not as a stand-alone diagnosis. Testing is performed in NATA-accredited laboratories to ISO 15189 standards.

What is ESR?

ESR, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate, measures how quickly your red blood cells settle to the bottom of a tube over an hour. When inflammation is present, certain proteins make red cells clump and settle faster, so a higher ESR is an indirect sign of inflammation.

Why it matters

ESR is a long-established, general marker of inflammation. It is non-specific, meaning it tells you inflammation may be present without saying why, but it remains useful, particularly for tracking certain conditions over time alongside more specific markers like CRP.

What your results can mean

Higher than optimal

A raised ESR suggests inflammation somewhere in the body, from infection to autoimmune and other conditions. Because it is non-specific, it prompts a clinician to look further rather than pointing to a single cause. It also tends to rise naturally with age.

Within the healthy range

An ESR in range makes significant active inflammation less likely, though it is always read alongside your symptoms and other markers.

Reference ranges in Australia

ESR is reported in millimetres per hour (mm/hr), with reference ranges that rise with age and differ between men and women. Read your result against your own report and in context.

Understanding your inflammation with Precursor

ESR is best read alongside CRP and your clinical picture. At Precursor, this testing is requested and reviewed by a clinician, so your result is read in context. If this is something you would like to understand, you can speak with Precursor's clinical team about whether testing is right for you.