VOA标准英语2010年-New Drug-Free Treatment Good for Heart

Dr. David Wilber performs a procedure called catheter ablation to treat patients with atrial fibrillation at Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois

 

A relatively¹ new procedure is proving to be more effective in treating patients with irregular heartbeat than standard drug therapy. 

Patients with an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation describe their condition the way Robin² Drabant does.

"My heart would just start racing³, I would kind of lose my breath," she explained.  "Usually it only lasted for a couple of seconds, but as I got older, they got progressively worse and more frequent."

Atrial fibrillation can lead to stroke or heart attack.  Ray Caspillo says it feels like his heart is flopping⁴ out of his chest.

"You feel your chest like it's closing in," he added.  "You're gasping⁵ for air."

Doctors can treat the condition by threading a catheter around the heart.  The procedure is short, and the recovery time minimal⁶.

Dr. David Wilber performs this procedure at Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois.

"Now we're applying radio frequency energy.  What that does, is [it] heats up the tissue and destroys that bit of muscle where the catheter is," explained Dr. Wilber.  "The goal is to destroy the muscle around the pulmonary veins⁷ in order to prevent the transmission of electrical impulses to the rest of the heart."

The procedure is called catheter ablation because it burns off a small amount of heart muscle.

Dr. Wilber and other researchers studied more than 150 patients with atrial fibrillation. About 100 patients had catheter ablation. The others were treated with drugs.

"Sixty and 70 percent of patients treated with catheter ablation never had another episode after the treatment," he stated.  "But, about 30 percent did. In contrast, patients treated with drug therapy had somewhere between an 80 and 90 percent recurrence⁸ of arrhythmias over that time frame."

Ray Caspillo says having the procedure means he can now walk as much as he wants and without getting tired. Robin Drabant says it was the best decision she has ever made.

"I wish I had made it years before. Because my quality of life is just so much more improved," she said.

Dr. Wilber says catheter ablation is not the first treatment choice for atrial fibrillation. He suggests it only when drug therapy is not working.

The report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

 

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 flopping   

n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• The fish are still flopping about. 鱼还在扑腾。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• What do you mean by flopping yourself down and praying agin me?' 咚一声跪下地来咒我，你这是什么意思” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

6 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

7 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。