英语听力文摘 English Digest 415、流感疫苗的神奇功效（在线收听）

Flu Shot Through the Heart
流感疫苗的神奇功效

Researchers conducting a study of hospital stays for over two hundred and eighty six thousand older folks found something interesting in their data.

The number of hospitalizations for heart disease and stroke went down significantly among a certain group of people at a certain time of year. What folks, and what time of year, you ask? Flu season–and the lucky people were the ones who got flu shots.

It’s generally recommended that people over fifty get their flu shots every year. Influenza is no small thing–it’s responsible for around thirty six thousand deaths a year in the U.S. alone. Getting the shots also cuts down on the chances of getting pneumonia, which is especially dangerous in seniors.

But what wasn’t known was that there seems to be an added benefit to getting a flu shot in terms of warding off heart problems. The data, in fact, are quite strong in suggesting this is the case.

In this study, flu shots cut down the number of hospitalizations for heart disease by nineteen percent. Stroke went down sixteen percent one season and a whopping twenty-three percent a second season. These are big results.

So what’s the connection between getting a flu shot and having a stronger heart? It isn’t yet known.

Researchers speculate that the flu virus itself may do damage to blood vessels, possibly making clots more likely. Blood clots in the heart can cause heart attacks, and blood clots in the brain can cause strokes.

Whatever the specific details are, there’s one more good reason to follow your doctor’s advice–and get that annual flu shot.

研究人员在医院住院部做了一个调查，他们的研究对象是186000位老人。结果发现一些有趣的数据。

在一年中的特定时间段，一组特定的病人住院治疗心脏病和中风的数目明显减少。你就会问，是什么样的人，又是一年中的什么时候呢？答案是：流感季节——而这些幸运的人就是那些注射流感疫苗的人。

医生一般建议50岁以上的老人每年都要接种流感疫苗。流行性感冒决不是小事。仅在美国，每年就有约36000人死于流感。接种流感疫苗还能较低得肺炎的机率。老人得肺炎非常危险。

但以前我们并不知道，接种流感疫苗在避开心脏问题方面似乎还有另外一个好处。这些数据实际上很有力地说明了这一点。

在这次的调查中，流感疫苗减少了19%心脏病住院人数。中风住院人数一个季度减少了16%，并在第二个季度减少了22%。这些调查结果很重要。

接种流感疫苗和拥有一个强健的心脏之间有什么必然联系吗？目前尚无定论。

研究人员推测流感病毒本身可能会损坏血管，产生血块的可能性更大。心脏里的血块会引发心脏病，而大脑里的血块会导致中风。

不管具体的细节是什么，总之又多了一个很好的理由要听医生的话——每年接种流感疫苗。