2007年VOA标准英语-Sunday's Super Bowl Also Puts Focus on Heart He

By Carol Pearson
Washington
02 February 2007
 
watch Athlete Cardio report

People all around the world will be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday (Feb 4).  The Super Bowl is, in effect, the world championship of American football. Most people will concentrate on the game, but one former player will split his attention between the big game and the health of both current and former players.  VOA's Carol Pearson has more.

This is what people expect to see from top football players: lots of action, intense  competition, and physical contact. 

 
Dr. Archie Roberts
Dr. Archie Roberts, with Living Heart Foundation explains, "At the height of a player's career, they are so athletic¹ and so well conditioned and well trained, that they can withstand almost anything from a physical point of view. "

Dr. Roberts should know.  He played in the National Football League for both the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns before becoming a heart surgeon. Now he heads the Living Heart Foundation. Its mission is to educate people about heart disease, to encourage early detection through screening, and to provide a plan to improve an athlete or former athlete's health.

 
Dr. Roberts says he got motivated because so many athletes die way too young. "Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer² in the United States, and it often has a long latent period where early problems develop within the body that eventually build up to be life-threatening problems some 10, 20 or 30 years later."

It can even be a problem for young athletes.  Seventeen-year-old Nick Rotolo died suddenly of a heart attack during a hockey game three years ago. And since then, other young athletes have suffered cardiac arrest.

Through his foundation, Dr. Roberts and other doctors are screening high school athletes as part of a pilot program.  

In Italy, all young athletes undergo a thorough cardio screening before they are allowed to play on a team. Those at risk for heart attack are not allowed to play.

The screening has reduced the incidence of sudden death in young Italian athletes by almost 90 percent, according to Dr. Gaetano Thiene from the Padua Center for Sports Medicine. "This was absolutely amazing because this was proving that the pre-participation screening is a life-saving tool."

The combination of large body size is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. And the collisions associated with football and other contact sports can take a toll³ as an athlete ages.

A new development in health care for athletes, and former athletes, involves a screening device called an SphygmoCor. It has a small pressure sensor⁴ that provides more information about blood pressure than the traditional arm cuff⁵.  It also assesses the condition of the arteries⁶.

Dr. Roberts adds, "With these newer techniques, we can detect earlier stages of athrosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, at a point where we can intervene and prevent serious consequences from occurring."

More than a thousand active and retired⁷ athletes have been tested, using a SphygmoCor. Dr. Roberts says the early diagnosis⁸ has already saved lives.

Video courtesy of JAMA

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

5 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

6 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》

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。