VOA英语2010年-New Technique Avoids Major Surgery If Aneury

The American Heart Association reports that the death rate from diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels² has dropped by almost 30 percent since the 1990's. Still, heart disease remains³ a major killer⁴ in the United States. It is what claimed the life of US diplomat⁵ Richard Holbrooke, who died of a burst aorta⁶ December 13.

The aorta is the biggest artery⁷ in the body. It travels from the heart to the abdomen⁸ and carries blood to the other organs and other arteries⁹. Healthy arteries are smooth and elastic¹⁰, but in a weak one, blood flowing through can cause it to form a bulge¹¹. If that bulge tears open, chances of survival are slim.

There are few symptoms beforehand and even with immediate¹² medical treatment, only a small percentage patients survive. Risk factors include age.

Dr. Richard Rubin, the chief cardiologist at Sibley Hospital in Washington, said, "As we get older, the aorta gets a little more brittle¹³. Forces like high blood pressure and athrosclerotic plaque¹⁴ in the arteries can weaken the wall of the aorta and make it more brittle, and then at some point, if the pressure is excessive, it can rupture¹⁵."

There are other factors, such as excessive weight or sudden bursts of energy.

"What is especially dangerous is a sudden surge in the pressure, for example, when you are shoveling snow or if somebody askes you to move a piece of furniture and you give a tremendous exertion¹⁶, your blood pressure can skike up suddenly, and that can be especially tearing to the wall of the aorta," said Dr. Rubin.

Aneurysms can be detected by X-ray or by imaging techniques such as an echocardiogram, an MRI (magnetic resonance¹⁷ imaging) or a CT scan. That's how Kevin Healey's doctor detected his aneurysm two years ago.

"He did an echogram, and noticed an irregularity in the size of the heart. So he followed that up with a CT scan and found an aneurysm on the aorta," said Healey.

Doctors repaired Healey's aneurysm, but Dr. Rubin explains that when the aneurysm suddenly bursts, the situation becomes a life-or-death emergency. "When this happens, the volume of blood in your body gets dumped into the chest cavity or the abdominal¹⁸ cavity, and that is a medical emergency. Your blood will leak out, your blood pressure will drop, and then all of the vital organs of the body will not receive the proper amount of blood because it has leaked out through the tear," he said.

Doctors can cut out the aneurysm and replace it with a patch or artificial piece of blood vessel¹. Some Australian doctors have devised a way to repair an aneurysm without major surgery.

Dr. Tony Grabs performs this procedure at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. "The significant improvement in the design, the technology, has enabled us to undertake this operation really from two small cuts in the groin and also a small cut in the arm to get access to the arteries. So it really is revolutionary and changes the whole way that certainly I think about the treatment of aneurysms," he said.

While age can be a factor, doctors say keeping your cholesterol¹⁹, blood pressure and weight within normal limits can help keep your aorta healthy and reduce your chances of having an aneurysm.

1 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

2 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 aorta   

n.主动脉

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Put down that jelly doughnut and look carefully at this aorta.放下手头上的东西，认真观察这张大动脉图片。

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 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

9 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》

10 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

11 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

14 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。

15 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

16 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

17 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

18 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。

19 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。