Napping to a Healthier Heart?
1. Researchers say they have developed a simple test that can tell if a person with heart disease is likely to suffer a heart attack2. The test measures levels of a protein in the blood. The researchers say people with high levels of this protein are at high risk of heart attack, heart failure3 or stroke.
2. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California in San Francisco led the team. For about four years, they studied almost one thousand patients with heart disease. The researchers tested the heart disease patients for a protein called NT-proBNP4. Patients with the highest levels were nearly eight times more likely than those with the lowest levels to have a heart attack, heart failure or stroke.
3. The researchers say the presence of high levels of the protein in the blood shows that the heart muscle is under pressure in some way. The study involved mostly men, so the researchers could not say for sure5 that the results are also true for women. They say the patients with the highest levels of NT-proBNP were older and had other problems like diabetes or high blood pressure.
4. Other researchers say more studies are needed to confirm if knowing the protein levels of a heart patient should affect that person’s treatment. They also would like to know if more aggressive treatment6 could reduce the patient’s chance of a heart attack or stroke. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association7.
5. Could a little sleep during the middle of the day reduce the risk of a heart attack? An unrelated study earlier this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine8 suggests that the answer may be yes. In countries like the United States, afternoon naps are mostly for children. But they are common for adults in Mediterranean countries. And these countries generally have lower rates of heart disease. So scientists in the United States and Greece wondered if naps could play a part. Twenty-three thousand healthy adults took part in the study by Harvard University and the University of Athens9. Those who took thirty-minute naps three times a week had a thirty-seven percent lower risk of death from heart problems than people who did not take naps.
6. The researchers say napping may improve heart health by reducing stress. They say the research suggests that naps are especially good for working men. But they say not enough female subjects died during the study to judge the benefits for women.
词汇：
nap n. vi. (白天)小睡,打盹;睡午觉
attack n.(疾病)发作
failure n.衰竭
stroke n.中风
muscle n.肌肉
diabetes ( = diabetes mellitus) n.糖尿病
confirm vt.确证,进一步证实
archive n.(常用复数)档案;档案室
Mediterranean adj.地中海的
Greece n.希腊
stress n.压力
subject n.受实验者
注释：
1.Napping to a Healthier Heart? 午睡可以使心脏更健康吗?to在这里表示达到某种结果或效果。
2. heart attack:心脏病发作
3.heart failure ：心力衰竭
4.NT-proBNP:N端–脑型利钠肽原(或N末端前脑利钠肽)。它是心肌中的一种压力指示因子,有望成为预测冠心病转归的生化标志物。
5.for sure:确实,毫无疑问地
6. aggressive treatment:损伤性治疗(aggressive原意是“有攻击性的,侵略的”)
7.American Medical Association (AMA):美国医学会
8.Archives of Internal Medicine:《内科医学档案》
9.Harvard University ：(美国)哈fo大学
University of Athens：(希腊)雅典大学
练习：
1.Paragraph 2 ________
2.Paragraph 3 ________
3.Paragraph 5 ________
4.Paragraph 6 ________
A Effects of Napping in Females Still Uncertain
B Older Males Have Higher Levels of NT-proBNP
C Development of a Simple but Important Test
D Evidence of Positive Relationship Between Napping and Heart Disease
E How to Control the Levels of NT-proBNP
F Effects of NT-proBNP on Heart Disease
5.According to some researchers, by measuring the levels of NT-proBNP in the blood people may know ________.
6.If a person has a high level of NT-proBNP ________.
7.People who take regular afternoon naps ________.
8.So far there have not been definite data to confirm ________.
A where fewer people die from heart problem
B whether they have the risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke
C would probably have lower rates of heart disease
D how to test a person’s NT-proBNP level in the blood by himself
E his heart muscle would be under pressure in some way
F that napping is of great benefit to women too
答案与题解：
1.F本段后面两句说道,通过检查心脏病人的NT-pmBNP水平,发现水平最高的病人与水平最低的病人之间患心脏病的可能性相差近八倍。
2.B本段说到,他们所查的是男性,并发现老年男性且患有糖尿病和高血压者NT-proBNP的水平最高。
3.D本段说道,地中海国家的成年人普遍都午睡,而且患心脏病的比率较低。哈fo大学和雅典大学的研究证明,每周午睡三次、每次30分钟的人比完全不午睡的人死于心脏病的比率少37%。
4.A最后一段说,午睡对工作的男性尤其有益,调查时死亡的女性并不多,因此,午睡对女性的益处尚不能得出一个明确结论。
5.B答案来源于第一段的第二、三句。
6.E答案来源于第三段第一句。
7.C答案来源于第五段第三、四句和该段最后一句。
8.F答案来源于第三段第二句和文章的最后一句。
译文：午睡可以使心脏更健康吗?
研究人员声称他们开发出了一种简单的测试，它可以判断一个心脏病患者发病的可能性。这种测试就是测量一种特定的蛋白质在血液中的含量。研究人员指出，血液中含有大量这种蛋白质的人是心脏病发作、心力衰竭、中风的高危人群。
领导这个课题研究小组的是来自加州大学旧金山分校的Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo。在大约四年间，他们研究了约1000个心脏病患者。研究人员测试心脏病患者体内一种叫做NT-proBNP(N端—脑型利钠肽原)的蛋白质的含量。体内该蛋白质含量最高的患者与水平最低的患者相比，心脏病发作、心力囊竭、中风的可能性相差近八倍。
研究人员指出，血液中出现这种蛋白质表明心肌在某种程度上受到了压迫。此项研究的研究对象主要是男性，所以研究人员不能肯定此项研究的结果也适用于女性。他们指出NT-proBNP(N端-脑型利钠肽原)含量水平最高的病相比其他病人，年纪更大而且患有其他疾病，比如：糖尿病或高血压。
其他研究人员表示，心脏病患者体内这种蛋白的含量水平是否应当引起治疗方案的变动，还要做进一步的研究加以证实。他们还想知道损伤性治疗会不会减轻患者发病或中风的机会。这份研究报告已经发表在了《美国医学会杂志》上。
在一天的中间小睡一会儿会不会降低心脏病发作的危险几率呢?在本月稍早时候在《内科医学档案》上发表的一份研究虽不太相关，但也表明，也许真的是这样。在美国这样的国家，下午小睡的主要是儿童。但是在地中海国家，成年人下午小睡片刻是很苦遍的。而且在这些地中海国家心脏病的发病率都很低。因此美国和希腊的科学家想知道午睡是不是在其中起了作用。2.3万名成年人参加了这项由哈fo大学和雅典大学共同组织的研究。那些每周午睡3次，每次30分钟的人，他们死于心脏问题的风险比那些不午睡的人低37%。
研究人员指出午睡可能是通过为心脏减压改善了心脏的健康状况。他们指出这项研究表明午睡对工作的男性效果尤其好。但是他们表示，因为研究中的女性调查者死亡的病历并不多，所以午睡之于女性是否有好处，还不能断言。
