2006年VOA标准英语-Former Enron Chairman's Sudden Death Could Have

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
10 July 2006
 
watch Health report Ken¹ Lay

The sudden death this past week of former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay has focused attention on the link between stress and heart disease. Kenneth Lay died Wednesday of an apparent heart attack, after being convicted in May of fraud and conspiracy². 

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Kenneth Lay   
  
At the height of his corporate³ power, Kenneth Lay looked like the picture of good health.  But cardiologists in his hometown of Houston, Texas knew he suffered from coronary artery⁴ disease.  An autopsy⁵ after his death confirmed he had experienced a previous heart attack.

The former chairman of the energy corporation Enron had been under a great deal of stress for years.  When Enron went into bankruptcy⁶ in December 2001, thousands of the company's employees lost their jobs; stockholders lost their investments and Kenneth Lay's legal troubles mounted.  He was scheduled for sentencing in October and was facing a lifetime in prison for his conviction of fraud and conspiracy.

Kenneth Lay died in the mountain resort of Aspen, Colorado.   

Dr. Reynold Delgado  
  
Dr. Reynolds Delgado of the Texas Heart Institute says it is unlikely a small community hospital in a town that size would have the medical technology needed to save a heart attack victim. "The statistics are for a community hospital like that, that if you arrive there in full cardiac arrest, the chances of survival are very, very low -- less than 10 percent."

"Here's a man in his mid-60s, under a whole lot of stress for a lot of reasons, who goes from living in Houston to a high altitude. All of these things are stressors that can lead to a risk of a heart attack," added Dr. Delgado.

There is a growing belief among medical experts that extreme and prolonged emotional stress can cause changes in blood clotting⁷ and abnormal heart beats, setting up conditions for a potential heart attack. Chronic⁸ stress, such as the death of a loved one, or mounting legal and financial troubles, often leads to anxiety and depression, which can aggravate⁹ heart disease.  Stress often triggers poor health habits such as overeating and smoking, which also contribute to heart disease.

Ironically, Kenneth Lay helped raise money (for charitable causes) to install portable electrocardiogram machines in ambulances and more heart monitors in hospital emergency rooms -- medical equipment that might have saved his own life.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 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。

5 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

6 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

7 clotting   

v.凝固( clot的现在分词 )；烧结

参考例句：

• The study was also based only on the one anti-clotting drug. 所用抗血栓药物也仅限于一种。 来自互联网
• A plasma protein that is converted into thrombin during blood clotting. 凝血原酶一种血浆蛋白质，在血液凝聚时转化成凝血''。'酵'。''''。'素'。''。 来自互联网

8 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

9 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。