VOA标准英语2012--Heart Attack Risk Soars After Loved One Dies

Heart Attack Risk Soars After Loved One Dies

The risk of heart attack goes way up in the hours and days after the death of a loved on, according to new research.
Researchers surveyed almost 2,000 heart attack survivors¹ and asked whether someone close to them had died in the six months before their heart attack.
"We found that the risk of having a heart attack was 21 times higher in the day following the loss of a loved one, compared to other times," says Elizabeth Mostofsky of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who led the study. "And that risk remained elevated during subsequent days and weeks."
According to Mostofsky, previous research looked at the risk of dying from any cause over a year or more after the death of a spouse² or a child, not including other close family and friends, and her team focused on data from the days immediately after getting the news.
She says several things could explain why the intense feelings after the death of a loved one could trigger a heart attack.
"Grief causes feelings of depression, anger, and anxiety, and several studies have shown that these emotions can cause increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and blood clotting," she says. "And those, in turn, can increase the chances of having a heart attack."
Mostofsky says the key message of her study is that the family and friends of people who are grieving for a loved one, especially one who has died in recent days, should be aware of the increased risk of heart attack.
"People should be making sure that the bereaved³ person is taking care of himself or herself, including taking their regular medications, because they are at that heightened level of vulnerability at this time in their life."
Mostofsky, whose research is published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation, adds that if a grieving person develops symptoms of a possible heart attack, that should not just be chalked up to going through a stressful time. It may actually be a heart attack.

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

3 bereaved   

adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）

参考例句：

• The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。
• an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织