Minimisation of risk factors for the development of vascular disease has made a major contribution to the decline in vascular morbidity and mortality reported over the last decade. Recent evidence has highlighted that elevation of serum creatinine is a strong marker of increased vascular risk, with a predictive value as high as the development of diabetes. As serum creatinine is easily measured — albeit often misinterpreted — this provides another easily applied clinical tool for the stratification of cardiovascular risk and the targeting of preventative medicine in primary and secondary care.