VOASE0221_Health Report

21 February 2007

Test May Show Heart Patients' Risk | Napping to a Healthier Heart?
Researchers think a protein level can tell if a person with heart disease is likely to suffer a heart attack. Also, a study says afternoon sleep may cut the risk of dying from a heart attack.

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Researchers say they have developed a simple test that can tell if a person with heart disease is likely to suffer a heart attack. The test measures levels of a protein in the blood. The researchers say people with high levels of this protein are at high risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke.

有研究者声称他们开发了一种能简易测试心脏病患者是否容易急性发作的方法。这项技术检测的是病人血液中某种蛋白质的含量。他们说这项指标较高的心脏病人会更容易出现急性心脏病发作、心力衰竭或中风。

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California in San Francisco led the team. For about four years, they studied almost one thousand patients with heart disease.

这项研究是由旧金山加州大学Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo所领导的科研小组开展的。在四年的研究过程中，他们共分析了将近一千位心脏病患者。

The researchers tested the heart disease patients for a protein called NT-proBNP. Patients with the highest levels were nearly eight times more likely than those with the lowest levels to have a heart attack, heart failure or stroke.

他们检测了这些患者血液中一个叫做NT-proBNP蛋白的含量。他们发现含量最高的那些病人的发病率要比最低的患病者高出将近八倍。

The researchers say the presence of high levels of the protein in the blood shows that the heart muscle is under pressure in some way. The study involved mostly men, so the researchers could not say for sure that the results are also true for women.

研究者认为这种蛋白质在血液中的高含量出现意味着患者的心肌处于某种受迫状态。这项研究所选取的对象主要集中于男性患者，因此研究者目前还无法确定这种检测方法是否同样适用于女性患者。

They say the patients with the highest levels of NT-proBNP were older and had other problems like diabetes or high blood pressure.

研究者还指出NT-proBNP含量最高的那些患者年龄都偏大，而且他们的身体状况还会存在一些其他异常，例如患有糖尿病，或是高血压。

Other researchers say more studies are needed to confirm if knowing the protein levels of a heart patient should affect that person's treatment. They also would like to know if more aggressive treatment could reduce the patient's chance of a heart attack or stroke.

一些其他的研究者认为他们需要更多的研究来确定在对心脏病患者的治疗过程中是否有必要参考这项蛋白的指标。他们还想知道高强度的治疗方法是否有助于降低患者出现心脏病发作或中风的机会。

The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Could a little sleep during the middle of the day reduce the risk of a heart attack? An unrelated study earlier this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that the answer may be yes.

In countries like the United States, afternoon naps are mostly for children. But they are common for adults in Mediterranean countries. And these countries generally have lower rates of heart disease. So scientists in the United States and Greece wondered if naps could play a part.

Twenty-three thousand healthy adults took part in the study by Harvard University and the University of Athens. Those who took thirty-minute naps three times a week had a thirty-seven percent lower risk of death from heart problems than people who did not take naps.

The researchers say napping may improve heart health by reducing stress. They say the research suggests that naps are especially good for working men. But they say not enough female subjects died during the study to judge the benefits for women.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Steve Ember.

中文翻译由Carl提供 PoEnglish感谢致敬！