HEALTH REPORT - Sudden Cardiac Death

HEALTH REPORT -July 3, 2002: Sudden Cardiac Death

By Nancy Steinbach
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

An American professional baseball player, Darryl Kile, died recently. He was thirty -three years old and seemed
to be in good health.

An examination of his body showed that two of the three blood vessels¹ leading to his heart were almost
completely blocked. Doctors call this condition atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries². It develops when
arteries become narrowed and cannot carry blood to the heart. The arteries may contain fatty substances that
block the flow of blood.

These conditions can lead to a heart attack or sudden death. Kile’s body showed no evidence of a heart attack.
However, doctors say that people with severe blockages⁴ of a heart artery⁵ can die from an abnormal heart beat.
This is what they think happened to Kile.

The death of a seemingly healthy professional athlete surprised many people. Doctors say that such a serious
amount of blockage³ is very unusual for someone so young. However, Darryl Kile ’s father died after a stroke at
the age of forty-four. Strokes often result from a build-up of fatty substances in the blood vessels of the brain.

Doctors say the death of a close family member from a heart attack or stroke is one sign that a person has an
increased chance of developing a similar problem. They say that knowing your family ’s medical history may be
one of the most important things you can do to protect your health.

They say this is especially true if the family member died before the age of fifty. This could mean that a genetic⁶
problem exists. People in this situation should ask their doctor for tests to measure the health of major arteries.
Doctors can usually treat such problems.

Other things also increase the chance of developing heart problems or a stroke. These include smoking cigarettes,
weighing too much and not exercising. Still other risk factors include having high cholesterol⁷, high blood
pressure or the disease diabetes⁸.

The World Heart Federation⁹ says heart attacks and strokes kill seventeen-million people around the world each
year. That is thirty percent of all deaths. The organization says people can reduce their chances of a heart attack
or stroke by exercising, stopping smoking and eating foods low in fat.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.

Email this article to a friend

Printer Friendly Version

1 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 blockage   

n.障碍物；封锁

参考例句：

• The logical treatment is to remove this blockage.合理的治疗方法就是清除堵塞物。
• If the blockage worked,they could retreat with dignity.如果封锁发生作用，他们可以体面地撤退。

4 blockages   

n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞

参考例句：

• The storms could increase the risks posed by river blockages. 暴风雨会增加因河道堵塞所造成的危险。 来自互联网
• An angiogram shows the location and severity of blockages in blood vessels. 冠状动脉造影能够显示血管内的阻塞位置以及阻塞的严重程度。 来自互联网

5 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

8 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。