HEALTH REPORT - Former President Bill Clinton Has Heart Bypa

HEALTH REPORT - Former President Bill Clinton Has Heart Bypass¹ Surgery
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Wednesday, September 15, 2004

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Health Report.

Former President Bill Clinton is recovering from a major heart operation on Monday of last week. Mister Clinton had a coronary bypass operation to improve blood flow to his heart. Doctors at New York Presbyterian Hospital performed the four-hour operation.

Mister Clinton was hospitalized after suffering chest pains and shortness of breath the week before. Tests showed he had serious blockages³ in four of his coronary arteries⁴. Some were blocked by as much as ninety percent. Doctors say that without the operation, Mister Clinton probably would have had a major heart attack in the near future.

Most arteries carry blood away from the heart. Coronary arteries supply blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. Doctors perform bypass operations when these arteries become blocked by cholesterol⁵ or fatty material called plaque⁶.

Doctors take an artery⁷ or vein⁸ from the patient's chest or leg and use it to go around, or bypass, a blocked artery. In Mister Clinton's case, doctors used two arteries from the chest and a vein from the leg.

During the operation, Mister Clinton's heart was stopped for seventy-three minutes. Blood flow and breathing are taken over by a heart-lung machine. That process is used for more than seventy-five percent of bypass patients. But it carries a small risk of stroke and nervous system damage.

Some patients with less severe blockages can be treated with medications. Others can be treated with angioplasty. That is when doctors expand a balloon-like device inside the arteries to clear the blockage².

Mister Clinton is fifty-eight years old. He recently lost weight on a new diet and his cholesterol level dropped. But he had been experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath for several months. He says he did not recognize these as warning signs of heart disease. He thought there were other explanations, like not enough exercise.

He said part of his heart condition was linked to a family history of the disease, but part of it was his poor eating habits. Doctors say Mister Clinton must follow a low-salt, low-fat diet and take medications to keep his arteries clear.

The American Heart Association says coronary heart disease kills almost a half-million people a year in the United States. It is the leading cause of death among Americans.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Gwen Outen.

1 bypass   

n.旁道；分流术；vt.绕过，越过...于不顾

参考例句：

• If we take the bypass we'll avoid the town centre.我们走旁道就能绕过镇中心。
• You cannot bypass this question.你不能回避这个问题。

2 blockage   

n.障碍物；封锁

参考例句：

• The logical treatment is to remove this blockage.合理的治疗方法就是清除堵塞物。
• If the blockage worked,they could retreat with dignity.如果封锁发生作用，他们可以体面地撤退。

3 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

4 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》

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。