2006年VOA标准英语-A New Connection Between Migraines, Heart Disea

By Carol Pearson
Washington, DC
19 July 2006
 
watch Migraine report
 
  
  
Millions of people suffer from migraines -- headaches so severe they can be disabling. Migraines often are accompanied by nausea¹, vomiting², and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.  Some migraines are preceded by an aura -- in the form of light flashes, blind spots or tingling³ in an arm or leg. Researchers now have new evidence of a connection between migraines and heart disease or stroke.

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A noted⁴ survey shows women are three times more likely to suffer from migraine headaches than men. 

Shenika Walker  
  
Shenika Walker describes hers. "They're painful … very, very, very painful."

Walker's migraines are preceded by an "aura"  -- dizziness, flashes or spots of light and temporary loss of vision. "I see spots when mine comes on."

The aura may mean Walker has a higher risk for heart disease and stroke.

That's the conclusion of the latest migraine study in theJournal of the American Medical Association.

 
Dr. Tobias Kurth 
  
Dr. Tobias Kurth is with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He is one of the authors of a 10-year study of more than 27,000 women. "Women with migraine with aura were twice as likely to experience cardiovascular disease overall, and specific cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, stroke, chest pain, or to die from cardiovascular disease. We found the most common form of migraine, migraine without aura is not associated with cardiovascular disease."

The study compared women with migraine and aura to women who do not have migraines. 

Dr. Tobias says migraine aura affects 20 to 30 percent of migraine patients.

He says only a small fraction of the women studied who had migraine with aura experienced a cardiovascular event

Dr. Paula Johnson   
  
But that got the attention of cardiologist Paula Johnson. She says doctors should pay more attention to patients' migraine histories. "And for those women who do have an aura, to make sure that they understand what the risk factors are for heart disease."

Scientists speculate that there is a common genetic⁵ link between aura and blood vessel⁶ disease.  If true, migraine sufferers would do best if they avoid risk factors that further increase their chances of cardiovascular disease -- such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol⁷.

Video courtesy of The Journal of The American Medical Association

1 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

2 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

3 tingling   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 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。

6 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

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。