Napping to a Healthier Heart?
1. Researchers say they have developed a simple test that can tell if a person with heart disease is likely to suffer a heart attack2. 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 failure3 or stroke.
2. 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. The researchers tested the heart disease patients for a protein called NT-proBNP4. 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.
3. 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 sure5 that the results are also true for women. They say the patients with the highest levels of NT-proBNP were older and had other problems like diabetes or high blood pressure.
4. 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 treatment6 could reduce the patient’s chance of a heart attack or stroke. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association7.
5. 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 Medicine8 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 Athens9. 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.
6. 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.
詞匯：
nap n. vi. (白天)小睡,打盹;睡午覺
attack n.(疾病)發(fā)作
failure n.衰竭
stroke n.中風(fēng)
muscle n.肌肉
diabetes ( = diabetes mellitus) n.糖尿病
confirm vt.確證,進一步證實
archive n.(常用復(fù)數(shù))檔案;檔案室
Mediterranean adj.地中海的
Greece n.希臘
stress n.壓力
subject n.受實驗者
注釋：
1.Napping to a Healthier Heart? 午睡可以使心臟更健康嗎?to在這里表示達到某種結(jié)果或效果。
2. heart attack:心臟病發(fā)作
3.heart failure ：心力衰竭
4.NT-proBNP:N端–腦型利鈉肽原(或N末端前腦利鈉肽)。它是心肌中的一種壓力指示因子,有望成為預(yù)測冠心病轉(zhuǎn)歸的生化標(biāo)志物。
5.for sure:確實,毫無疑問地
6. aggressive treatment:損傷性治療(aggressive原意是“有攻擊性的,侵略的”)
7.American Medical Association (AMA):美國醫(yī)學(xué)會
8.Archives of Internal Medicine:《內(nèi)科醫(yī)學(xué)檔案》
9.Harvard University ：(美國)哈fo大學(xué)
University of Athens：(希臘)雅典大學(xué)
練習(xí)：
1.Paragraph 2 ________
2.Paragraph 3 ________
3.Paragraph 5 ________
4.Paragraph 6 ________
A Effects of Napping in Females Still Uncertain
B Older Males Have Higher Levels of NT-proBNP
C Development of a Simple but Important Test
D Evidence of Positive Relationship Between Napping and Heart Disease
E How to Control the Levels of NT-proBNP
F Effects of NT-proBNP on Heart Disease
5.According to some researchers, by measuring the levels of NT-proBNP in the blood people may know ________.
6.If a person has a high level of NT-proBNP ________.
7.People who take regular afternoon naps ________.
8.So far there have not been definite data to confirm ________.
A where fewer people die from heart problem
B whether they have the risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke
C would probably have lower rates of heart disease
D how to test a person’s NT-proBNP level in the blood by himself
E his heart muscle would be under pressure in some way
F that napping is of great benefit to women too
答案與題解：
1.F本段后面兩句說道,通過檢查心臟病人的NT-pmBNP水平,發(fā)現(xiàn)水平最高的病人與水平最低的病人之間患心臟病的可能性相差近八倍。
2.B本段說到,他們所查的是男性,并發(fā)現(xiàn)老年男性且患有糖尿病和高血壓者NT-proBNP的水平最高。
3.D本段說道,地中海國家的成年人普遍都午睡,而且患心臟病的比率較低。哈fo大學(xué)和雅典大學(xué)的研究證明,每周午睡三次、每次30分鐘的人比完全不午睡的人死于心臟病的比率少37%。
4.A最后一段說,午睡對工作的男性尤其有益,調(diào)查時死亡的女性并不多,因此,午睡對女性的益處尚不能得出一個明確結(jié)論。
5.B答案來源于第一段的第二、三句。
6.E答案來源于第三段第一句。
7.C答案來源于第五段第三、四句和該段最后一句。
8.F答案來源于第三段第二句和文章的最后一句。
譯文：午睡可以使心臟更健康嗎?
研究人員聲稱他們開發(fā)出了一種簡單的測試，它可以判斷一個心臟病患者發(fā)病的可能性。這種測試就是測量一種特定的蛋白質(zhì)在血液中的含量。研究人員指出，血液中含有大量這種蛋白質(zhì)的人是心臟病發(fā)作、心力衰竭、中風(fēng)的高危人群。
領(lǐng)導(dǎo)這個課題研究小組的是來自加州大學(xué)舊金山分校的Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo。在大約四年間，他們研究了約1000個心臟病患者。研究人員測試心臟病患者體內(nèi)一種叫做NT-proBNP(N端—腦型利鈉肽原)的蛋白質(zhì)的含量。體內(nèi)該蛋白質(zhì)含量最高的患者與水平最低的患者相比，心臟病發(fā)作、心力囊竭、中風(fēng)的可能性相差近八倍。
研究人員指出，血液中出現(xiàn)這種蛋白質(zhì)表明心肌在某種程度上受到了壓迫。此項研究的研究對象主要是男性，所以研究人員不能肯定此項研究的結(jié)果也適用于女性。他們指出NT-proBNP(N端-腦型利鈉肽原)含量水平最高的病相比其他病人，年紀更大而且患有其他疾病，比如：糖尿病或高血壓。
其他研究人員表示，心臟病患者體內(nèi)這種蛋白的含量水平是否應(yīng)當(dāng)引起治療方案的變動，還要做進一步的研究加以證實。他們還想知道損傷性治療會不會減輕患者發(fā)病或中風(fēng)的機會。這份研究報告已經(jīng)發(fā)表在了《美國醫(yī)學(xué)會雜志》上。
在一天的中間小睡一會兒會不會降低心臟病發(fā)作的危險幾率呢?在本月稍早時候在《內(nèi)科醫(yī)學(xué)檔案》上發(fā)表的一份研究雖不太相關(guān)，但也表明，也許真的是這樣。在美國這樣的國家，下午小睡的主要是兒童。但是在地中海國家，成年人下午小睡片刻是很苦遍的。而且在這些地中海國家心臟病的發(fā)病率都很低。因此美國和希臘的科學(xué)家想知道午睡是不是在其中起了作用。2.3萬名成年人參加了這項由哈fo大學(xué)和雅典大學(xué)共同組織的研究。那些每周午睡3次，每次30分鐘的人，他們死于心臟問題的風(fēng)險比那些不午睡的人低37%。
研究人員指出午睡可能是通過為心臟減壓改善了心臟的健康狀況。他們指出這項研究表明午睡對工作的男性效果尤其好。但是他們表示，因為研究中的女性調(diào)查者死亡的病歷并不多，所以午睡之于女性是否有好處，還不能斷言。
