Pregnant Women Warned About ACE¹ Inhibitor

    1. Some of the most commonly used medicines for high blood pressure are drugs called ACE inhibitors. Doctors have given these drugs to patients for twenty-five years. A government study in the United Statesfound that the use almost doubled between 1995 and 2000.

    2. Doctors have known for years that women should not take ACE inhibitors during the last six months of pregnancy. The medicine can injure the baby. ACE inhibitors, though, have been considered safe when taken during the first three months. But a New study has found that women who take these drugs early in their pregnancy still increase the risk of birth disorders². The study shows that, compared to others, their babies were almost three times as likely to be born with major problems.³ These included problems with the formation of the brain and nervous system and holes in the heart.

    3. The researchers say they found no increased risk in women who took other blood pressure medicines during the first three months. Researchers atVanderbiltUniversityinTennesseeandBostonUniversitydid the study. The New England Journal of Medicine⁴ published the results. The researchers studied the records of almost thirty thousand births between 1985 and 2000. Two hundred nine babies were born to women who took ACE inhibitors during the first three months of their pregnancies. Eighteen of the babies, or almost nine percent, had major disorders.

    4. ACE inhibitors are often given to patients with diabetes. But diabetes during pregnancy can result in birth defects. So the study did not include any women known to be diabetic⁵. ACE inhibitors suppress a protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE. This enzyme produces a chemical in the body that makes blood passages narrow. The drugs increase the flow of blood so pressure is reduced.

    5. New drugs are tested on pregnant animals to see if they might cause birth defects in humans. But experts say these tests are not always dependable. The United States Food and Drug Administration⁶ helped pay for the study. The F. D. A. says women who might become pregnant should talk with their doctor about other ways to treat high blood pressure.

 

词汇：

pregnant /"pregnənt/ adj.怀孕的

warn /wɔːn/ vt.警告

inhibitor /ɪn"hɪbɪtə/n. 抑制剂

pregnancy /"pregnənsɪ/ n.怀孕

diabetes ( = diabetes mellitus) /,daɪə"biːtiːz/ n.糖尿病

diabetic /daɪə"betɪk/ adj.糖尿病的；n.糖尿病患者

suppress /sə"pres/ vt.抑制

protein /"prəʊtiːn/ n.蛋白（质)

dependable /dɪ"pendəb(ə)l/ adj.可靠的

 

注释：

1.ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme):血管紧张肽转化酶

2.birth disorders:先天性疾病

3.The study shows that, compared to others, their babies were almost three times as likely to be born with major problems.这项研究表明,与其他婴儿相比,这些婴儿在出生时患大病的可能性几乎是他们的三倍。problem在医学文献中常常用来指疾病。

4.New England Journal Medicine:《新英格兰医学杂志》。New England是美国东北六州(Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island 和Connecticut)的总称。

5.birth defect ( = congenital defect):先天性缺陷,先天性缺损

6.United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA):美国食品与药品管理局A that may cause our blood vessels to become more and more narrow

B for pregnant women to take during their last six months of pregnancies

C that their likelihood to suffer major problems is two times higher than other babies

D with their doctors about how to treat their problems

E because diabetes during pregnancy may sometimes lead to birth defects

F. though their mothers took ACE inhibitors during their first three months of pregnancies

FDA. suggests that pregnant women with high blood pressure should consult ____________.

A:A B:B C:C D:D E:E F:F

Obesity： the Scourge of the Western World

    Obesity is rapidly becoming a new scourge of the western world, delegates agreed at the 11th European Conference on the issue in Vienna¹ Wednesday to Saturday. According to statements before the opening of the conference _ of 2,000 specialists from more than 50 countries 一 1. 2 billion people worldwide are overweight, and 250 million are obese.
    Professor Bernhard Ludvik of Vienna General Hospital said，“ Obesity is a chronic illness. In Germany，20 per cent of the people are already affected，but in Japan only one per cent. ” But he said that there was hope for sufferers thanks to the new scientific discoveries and medication.
    Professor Friedrich Hopichler of Salzberg said, "We are living in the new age (but) with the metabolism of a stone-age man.²" “I have just been to the United States. It is really terrible. A pizza shop is springing up³ on every corner. We have been overrun by fast food and Coca-Cola-ization. ”⁴
    Many of the experts stressed that obesity was a potential killer. Hopichler said, “Eighty percent of all diabetics are obese，also fifty per cent of all patients with high blood pressure and fifty per cent with adipose tissue complaints. ” "Ten per cent more weight means thirteen per cent more risk of heart disease. Reducing one"s weight by ten per cent leads to thirteen per cent lower blood pressure. ”
    Another expert Hermann Toplak said that the state health services should improve their financing of preventive programs. "Though the health insurance pays for surgery (such as reducing the size of the stomach) when the body-mass index⁵ is more than 40. That is equivalent to⁶ a weight of 116 kilograms for a height of 1.70 meters. One should start earlier. ”
    Ludvik said that prevention should begin in school. “ Child obesity (fat deposits) correlates with⁷ the time which children spend in front of TV sets. ”
　　The consequences were only apparent later on. No more than fifteen per cent of obese people lived to the average life expectancy⁸ for their population group.

词汇：

scourge / skɜ:dʒ/n. 天灾；祸害       

medication / ˌmedɪˈkeɪʃn/n. .药物疗法
obesity / əʊ"bi:sətɪ/n.肥胖症  

overrun / ˌəʊvə"rʌn/vt.侵扰；蹂躏

obese / əʊˈbi:s/n.肥胖的 

diabetic/ ˌdaɪəˈbetɪk/n. 糖尿病患者；adj.糖尿病的
pizza / ˈpi:tsə/n.(意大利式)烤馅饼，比萨饼
adipose/ "ædɪpəʊs/ahj.脂肪的;肥胖的

metabolism/ məˈtæbəlɪzəm/n. 新陈代谢

 

注释：

1. Vienna： n.维也纳（奧地利首都）
2.We are living... of a stone-age man.我们正生活在新时代，可是却是石器时代人类的新陈代 谢。言外之意，我们的饮食不讲究科学，见什么就吃什么。石器时代，食物匮乏，人类必须四 处觅食，新陈代谢自然旺盛;而现代有高度的物质文明，如果还像石器时代人类那样狼吞虎 咽,不吃成胖子才怪呢！
3.spring up:出现。例如:A suspicion sprang up in her mind.在她的头脑里出现了一个疑团。
4.We have been overrun by fast food and Coca-Cola-ization.我们已经深受快餐食品和可口可乐化的侵害。
5.body-mass index:体质指数(BMI)，也有人称为体重指数或身高体重指数。
6.be equivalent to ：相当于,等于
7.correlate with/to：(使）与……相关联例如:Her research results correlate with his.她的研究成果与他的研究成果相关联。They find it hard to correlate one set of figures with the other.他们发现很难使这两组数字发生相互联
8.life expectancy：(根据概率统计求得的）估计寿命，预期寿命

What is the correlation between body weight and heart disease and blood pressure?

A:Ten per cent less body weight means ten per cent less risk of heart disease and high blood pressure B:hirteen per cent more body weight means ten per cent more risk of heart disease and high blood pressure C:The more body weight one gains，the more risk of heart disease and high blood pressure he has D:The less body weight one gains, the more risk of heart disease and the less risk of high ‘ blood pressure he has

Hypertension Drugs Found to Cut Risk of Stroke

    Australian doctors declared Monday that a cocktail of simple antihypertensive drugs can lower the risk of patients suffering a repeat stroke by more than a third. This is the result of their research. The research, presented at a medical conference in Italyover the weekend, has been valued highly as a major breakthrough in stroke prevention.

    Strokes kill 5 million people a year, and more than 15 million suffer nbn-fatal strokes that often leave them with useless limbs , slurred speech and other serious disabilities. One in five stroke survivors goes on to have a second, often fatal, stroke within five years of the first.

    An international six-year study of 6，100 patients directed from Sydney University found that by taking two blood pressure-lowering drugs,the risk of secondary strokes can be reduced by up to 40 per cent. Even taking one of the commonly available drugs can cut the risk by a third，the study said. The drugs are the diuretic indapamide and the ACE inhibitor¹ perindopril, better known by its brand name Coversyl. The combination was effective even in patients who did not have high blood pressure，the researchers said. They even found that the risk of another stroke could be cut by three quarters among the one-in-ten patients who had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, the worst type of stroke, where there is direct bleeding into the brain.

    Stephen McMahon, who presented the research at theMilancongress of the European Society of Hypertension, said about 50 million people were alive who had suffered at least one stroke. "If most of those patients were able to get access to² this treatment, it would result in³ maybe the avoidance of half a million strokes a year，” the professor told Australia"s ABC Radio.

    McMahon said doctors had long known that lowering the blood pressure of those with hypertension could help prevent strokes. "What we have shown for the first time is that it does not really matter what your blood pressure is⁴ ； if you have had a stroke，then lowering blood pressure will produce large benefits, to begin with⁵— even for people whose blood pressure is average or below average，” he said.

    McMahon said the Milan gathering had heralded the research as a “ major breakthrough in the care of patients with strokes 一 perhaps the biggest step forward that we have made in the last couple of decades".

 

词汇：

hypertension /ˌhaɪpəˈtenʃn/ n.高血压

cocktail /"kɒkteɪl/ n.鸡尾酒（一种各种成分混合的饮料）；混合剂，合剂

antihypertensive / "ænti:hɑɪpə"tensɪv/ adj. .抗高血压的；抗高血压药

slur  /slɜ:(r) / vt.  (使）含糊不清 

diuretic / ˌdaɪjuˈretɪk/ adj. 禾尿的；利尿剂

indapamide /ɪndəpə"maɪd/ n. 吲达帕胺，茚磺苯酰胺(抗高血压药，利尿药）

inhibitor /ɪnˈhɪbɪtə(r)/ n.抑制剂，抑制物

perindopril .呱哚普利

cerebral / ˈserəbrəl, səˈri:-/ adj. 大脑的

h (a) emorrhage  /ˈhemərɪdʒ/ n.  出血

bleeding  /ˈbli:dɪŋ/ v.出血，放血

avoidance /əˈvɔɪdəns/ n.  避免，逃避

herald  /ˈherəld/ v.宣布；预示……的来临

 

注释：

1.ACE (angiotension converting enzyme) inhibitor:血管紧张肽转化酶抑制剂

2.get/have access to:有机会，有权利,有办法。例如:You can get easy access to him.你可以很容易见到他。Students must have access to good books.学生们必须有机会读到好书。

3.result in：(原因）导致（……结果）请注意另一短语result from,其因果关系正相反：（结果）是由……原因所造成的。 例如:His negligence resulted in the accident.他的疏<忽导致了这个事故。Sickness often results from eating too much.疾病常常是因饮食过度造成的。

4.What we have shown for the first time is that it does not really matter what your blood pressure is...：我们第一次所证明的是，你的血压高低并不太重要……在本句中What.. .time是主语从句，that... is是表语从句。在表语从句中it是形式主语， what... is是主语从句。在这里matter是不及物动词,等于be of importance,即“关系重大”。 例如:It doesn"t matter what you do or where you go.你做什么事或到什么地方去，这都无关紧要。

5.to begin with ：首先（作插入语)，例如:He is very diligent, to begin with.首先，他很勤奋。

What patients among those who have had a stroke will benefit greatly from taking blood pressure-lowering drugs?

A:Those whose blood pressure is high B:Those whose blood pressure is average C:Those whose blood pressure is below average D:All of the above

Australian doctors declared Monday that a cocktail of simple antihypertensive drugs can lower the risk of patients suffering a repeat stroke by more than a third. This is the result of their research. The research, presented at a medical conference in Italy over the weekend, has been valued highly as a major breakthrough in stroke prevention.
Strokes kill 5 million people a year, and more than 15 million suffer non-fatal strokes that often leave them with useless limbs, slurred speech and other serious disabilities. One in five stroke survivors goes on to have a second, often fatal, stroke within five years of the first.
An international six-year study of 6,100 patients directed from Sydney University found that by taking two blood pressure-lowering drugs, the risk of secondary strokes can be reduced by up to 40 per cent. Even taking one of the commonly available drugs can cut the risk by a third, the study said. The drugs are the diuretic indapamide and the ACE inhibitor perindopril, better known by its brand name Coversyl. The combination was effective even in patients who did not have high blood pressure, the researchers said. They even found that the risk of another stroke could be cut by three quarters among the one-in-ten patients who had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, the worst type of stroke, where there is direct bleeding into the brain.
Stephen McMahon, who presented the research at the Milan congress of the European Society of Hypertension, said about 50 million people were alive who had suffered at least one stroke. "If most of those patients were able to get access to this treatment. it would result in maybe the avoidance of half a million strokes a year, " the professor told Australia’s ABC Radio.
McMahon said doctors had long known that lowering the blood pressure of those with hypertension could help prevent strokes. "What we have shown for the first time is that it does not really matter what your blood pressure is; if you have had a stroke, then lowering blood pressure will produce large benefits, to begin with — even for people whose blood pressure is average or below average, " he said.
McMahon said the Milan gathering had heralded the research as a "major breakthrough in the care of patients with strokes — perhaps the biggest step forward that we have made in the last couple of decades" .
What patients among those who have had a stroke will benefit greatly from taking blood pressure-lowering drugs

A:Those whose blood pressure is high. B:Those whose blood pressure is average. C:Those whose blood pressure is below average. D:All of the above.

{{B}}第一篇{{/B}}

Which is the most important risk factor?

A:poor diet B:diabetes C:high blood cholesterol D:beer drinking

{{B}}第一篇{{/B}}

Which of the following directly causes the chest pain or tightness?

A:blocking of the coronary artery B:narrowing of the artery C:high blood cholesterol D:stress

　　第一篇 　　U.S. Eats Too Much Salt 　　People in the United States consume more than twice the recommended amount of salt, raising their risk for high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, government health experts said on Thursday. 　　They found nearly 70 percent of U. S. adults are in high-risk groups that would benefit from a lower-salt of no more than 1,500 mg per day, yet most consume closer to 3,500 nig per day. 　　"It’s important to eat people to eat less salt. People who adopt a heart-healthy eating pattern that includes a diet low in sodium and rich in potassium and calcium can improve their blood pressure," Dr. Darwin labarthe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. 　　"People need to know their recommended daily sodium limit and take action to reduce sodium intake," Labarthe said.The study in CDC’s report on death and disease used national survey data to show that two out of three adults should be consuming no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day because they are black or over the age of 40-- which are considered high-risk groups. Yet studies show most people in the United States eat 3,436 mg of sodium per day, according to a 2005-2006 CDC estimate. 　　Most of the sodium eaten comes from package, processed and restaurant foods. The CDC said it will join other agencies in the Health and Human Services department in working with major food manufacturers and chain restaurants to reduce sodium levels in the food supply. 　　Nationwide, 16 million men and women have heart disease and 5.8 million are estimated to have had a stroke. Cutting salt consumption can reduce these risks, the CDC said. Too much salt raises one’s risk for

A:high blood pressure. B:heart attacks. C:strokes. D:all of the above.