2007年VOA标准英语-Study Finds Medication as Effective as Heart St

By Carol Pearson
Washington
28 March 2007
 
watch Stent Study report

A new, landmark¹ study finds heart stents – devices used to open blocked arteries² - may not be as effective in the long term as medication in preventing heart attacks.  VOA's Carol Pearson has more on the study and how cardiologists are reacting to it.

 
A stent being placed in an artery³
A stent is a tiny mesh⁴, usually made of metal, inserted into an artery during a procedure called an angioplasty.  Stents open clogged⁵ arteries.

In the past year, there has been a huge controversy⁶ about stents coated with antibiotics⁷.  Without additional medication, these stents may actually cause blood clots⁸.  But stenting seemed to make sense – if stents allow more blood to flow to the heart, they should reduce heart attacks.

But that is not what Dr. William Boden found.  He led a study that shows stents do not reduce a patient's chances of having a heart attack.  Dr. Boden presented his study at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.

 
Dr. William Boden
"I think the results of this study may be profound in terms of how it changes the practice of cardiology in medicine," he said.

Dr. Boden and his team of researchers followed more than 2,200 patients, mostly men, who had a blocked artery and experienced chest pains when they exercised.  Half got aggressive drug therapy – medications to reduce cholesterol⁹, high blood pressure and a daily aspirin¹⁰ to reduce blood clots.

The other half got the same drug therapy plus a stent.  After four and a half years, the rate of heart attacks and death in the two groups was the same.  Cardiologist Steven Nissen, of the Cleveland Clinic, explains.

 
Cardiologist Steven Nissen
"What happens when you put a stent in, is you're attracting one narrowing in the artery, but it's not the narrowing that's going to cause the next heart attack,” he says.  “It's the plaque¹¹ developing everywhere else that's going to cause the next heart attack, and that's what medicines treat."

The belief is that stents help blockages¹² in one artery, but medication helps the entire body.  Even more surprising, the study found medication was about as effective in relieving chest pain, the main reason for inserting a stent.

Still, cardiologists like Dr. John Reilly say there is a need for stents. "In patients who come in with heart attacks, stenting and angioplasty is clearly the best treatment for those people," he says.

In the United States, more than one million angioplasties are performed annually¹³. Many cardiologists now predict a decrease in angioplasties, procedures that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

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 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。

4 mesh   

n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络

参考例句：

• Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
• This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

5 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

8 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 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。

10 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

11 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

12 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

13 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。