美国国家公共电台 NPR Worried About Dementia? You Might Want to Check Your Blood Pressure

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

There's growing evidence that when your blood pressure goes up, so does your risk of developing dementia, so one of the country's top brain doctors is urging people to protect their brains by controlling their blood pressure. As NPR's Jon Hamilton reports, this particular doctor is leading by example.

JON HAMILTON, BYLINE¹: Every day, Dr. Walter Koroshetz takes some pills to help his brain stay healthy and sharp.

WALTER KOROSHETZ: I have to take my blood pressure medicines. I do (laughter).

HAMILTON: You're practicing what you preach² here.

KOROSHETZ: Yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I'm a believer. Right.

HAMILTON: Koroshetz should know. He's the director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders³ and Stroke. And he's running a public health campaign called Mind Your Risks to tell people about the link between high blood pressure, stroke and dementia. Koroshetz says when blood pressure rises, it puts too much pressure on the tiny blood vessels⁴ that keep brain cells alive.

KOROSHETZ: With every pulse of your heart, you are pushing blood into these very small blood vessels in the brain and dilating⁵ them over and over again, which finally causes them to become diseased, to break, even.

HAMILTON: Koroshetz says that can lead to a stroke. And he says at least two large studies found an alarming trend among stroke patients.

KOROSHETZ: If you had a stroke - even a small stroke - your risk of dementia within the next two years was greatly magnified⁶. So there's something about having a stroke that drives a lot of the processes that give rise to dementia.

HAMILTON: Koroshetz says the evidence is clearest for a type of dementia caused by problems with blood flow in the brain, but high blood pressure also appears to increase a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Koroshetz says if people knew about the link between dementia and high blood pressure, they might be more inclined⁷ to do something about it.

KOROSHETZ: Only about 50 percent of people who have hypertension are actually - treat it, so I think there's a lot to be said for trying to get high blood pressure in control.

HAMILTON: Koroshetz is getting some help from the Alzheimer's Association. The group will present new research on blood pressure and Alzheimer's at its meeting in Chicago next week, and the group's chief science officer, Maria Carrillo, says the association is spreading the word that there are lots of ways to reduce blood pressure.

MARIA CARRILLO: We can do that with exercise, with lifestyle, with healthy eating and also with medications.

HAMILTON: Maintaining a healthy weight also helps. Koroshetz is using all of these approaches, and he says other people with high blood pressure should follow his lead.

KOROSHETZ: When you get to be my age, you're going to be very grateful that you controlled your blood pressure and exercised. You know, even 15 minutes a day is all it takes.

HAMILTON: Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF PACIFIC COLISEUM'S "WAVE CATALYST (HIGH TIDE)")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 preach   

vi.传道，宣扬；vt. 讲道，说教

参考例句：

• Don't preach me a sermon,please.请不要对我讲大道理。
• They continue to preach their gospel of self-reliance.他们继续倡导自立的信条。

3 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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》

5 dilating   

v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Compliance is the dilating extent of elastic tissue below pressure. 顺应性是指外力作用下弹性组织的可扩张性。 来自互联网
• For dilating the bearing life, bearing should keep lubricative well. 为延长轴承寿命，轴承应保持良好的润滑状态。 来自互联网

6 magnified   

放大了的

参考例句：

• An object was magnified 200 times by the microscope. 这架显微镜能把物体放大二百倍。
• A simple mistake in judgment was often magnified to the proportions of a major crime. 在审判时，小过失常常被夸大成滔天大罪。

7 inclined   

a.有…倾向的

参考例句：

• She was inclined to trust him. 她愿意相信他。
• He inclined towards the speaker to hear more clearly. 他把身体倾向发言人，以便听得更清楚些。