专家建议勿服用阿司匹林预防心脏病

Health Experts Warn Against Taking Aspirin To Prevent a Heart Attack Or Stroke

刘立军 供稿

TRANSCRIPT

A group of health experts says older adults without heart disease should not take aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke.

The group says the risk of bleeding inside the body for people 60 years of age and older is greater than the protection from heart disease.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released an early version of the new guidance recently.

It is a government-appointed group of health experts on disease prevention.

In addition to advice for older adults, the group for the first time said there may be a small benefit for adults in their 40s who have no bleeding risks.

The experts also said there is less clear evidence of a benefit for those in their 50s.

The group's guidelines are meant for people who are at higher risk of heart disease.

This includes people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, those who are highly overweight or who have conditions that increase their chances for a heart attack or stroke.

Anyone considering whether to start or stop the aspirin treatment should talk with a doctor first, the group also advised.

"Aspirin use can cause serious harms, and risk increases with age," said John Wong, a group member and doctor at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

In 2016, the prevention experts had advised that a small amount of aspirin each day could help prevent a first heart attack or stroke.

The new advice is in agreement with more recent guidelines from other medical groups.

Doctors have long advised small amounts of aspirin every day for many patients who already have had a heart attack or stroke.

The group's guidance does not change that.

The new guidance was announced online to let the public comment on it until November 8.

The group will study the comments and then make a final decision.

Wong said the guidelines are being updated because of new studies and reexamination of older research.

Aspirin is best known as a medicine to reduce pain.

But it also thins blood.

This can reduce the chances for blood clots.

But aspirin also has risks, even in small amounts.

These include bleeding in the stomach or intestines and ulcers.

Both conditions can be dangerous.

Dr. Lauren Block is a researcher at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York.

She said the guidance is important because so many adults take aspirin although they have never had a heart attack or stroke.

Block is not on the task force.

However, she recently stopped treating a patient with aspirin because of the possible bad effects.

She instead began treating the patient with a cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin.

The patient is 70-year-old Richard Schrafel.

He has high blood pressure and knows about his heart attack risks.

Schrafel said he never had bad effects from aspirin.

But he takes the new guidance seriously.

Sixty-three-year-old Rita Seefeldt also has high blood pressure.

She took aspirin every day for about 10 years until her doctor told her to stop two years ago.

"He said they changed their minds on that," remembered the retired elementary school teacher from Milwaukee.

She said she understands that science develops over time.

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

VOCABULARY

1. stroke n. a sudden serious illness when a blood vessel (= tube) in the brain bursts or is blocked, which can cause death or the loss of the ability to move or to speak clearly 中风。例如：to have/suffer a stroke患中风

2. cholesterol n. a substance found in blood, fat and most tissues of the body. Too much cholesterol can cause heart disease. 胆固醇

3. in agreement with: 同意，与……一致

4. intestine n. a long tube in the body between the stomach and the anus . Food passes from the stomach to the small intestine and from there to the large intestine. 肠

5. ulcer n. a sore area on the outside of the body or on the surface of an organ inside the body which is painful and may bleed or produce a poisonous substance 溃疡。例如：a stomach ulcer 胃溃疡

6. statin n.（医）抑制素（类名，包括促生长素抑制素、促黑素抑制素、促乳素抑制素等）

QUESTIONS

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). Then correct the false statements.

1. Older adults without heart disease should not take aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke.

2. The risk of bleeding inside the body for people 50 years of age and older is greater than the protection from heart disease.

3. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is a government-appointed group of health experts on disease cure and prevention.

4. The experts also said there is less clear evidence of a benefit for those in their 50s.

5. Anyone considering whether to start or stop the aspirin treatment should talk with a doctor first.

6. In 2016, the prevention experts had advised that a small amount of aspirin each day could help prevent a first heart attack or stroke.

7. Doctors have long advised small amounts of aspirin every day for many patients who already have had a heart attack or stroke.

8. The new guidance was announced online to let the public comment on it until December 8.

9. Aspirin is best known as a medicine to reduce pain, but it also has benefits, even in small amounts. 

10. Dr. Lauren Block recently stopped treating the patient with a cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin.

KEY

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). Then correct the false statements.

(T) 1. Older adults without heart disease should not take aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke.

(F) 2. The risk of bleeding inside the body for people 50 years of age and older is greater than the protection from heart disease. （正确表达）The risk of bleeding inside the body for people 60 years of age and older is greater than the protection from heart disease.

(F) 3. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is a government-appointed group of health experts on disease cure and prevention. （正确表达）The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is a government-appointed group of health experts on disease prevention.

(T) 4. The experts also said there is less clear evidence of a benefit for those in their 50s.

(T) 5. Anyone considering whether to start or stop the aspirin treatment should talk with a doctor first.

(T) 6. In 2016, the prevention experts had advised that a small amount of aspirin each day could help prevent a first heart attack or stroke.

(T) 7. Doctors have long advised small amounts of aspirin every day for many patients who already have had a heart attack or stroke.

(F) 8. The new guidance was announced online to let the public comment on it until December 8. （正确表达）The new guidance was announced online to let the public comment on it until November 8.

(F) 9. Aspirin is best known as a medicine to reduce pain, but it also has benefits, even in small amounts. （正确表达）Aspirin is best known as a medicine to reduce pain, but it also has risks, even in small amounts. 

(F) 10. Dr. Lauren Block recently stopped treating the patient with a cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin.（正确表达）Dr. Lauren Block recently began treating the patient with a cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin.

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