Early Predictions on Blood Pressure PDF

## Unit 1 ### Text A. Early Predictions on Blood Pressure Most people would assume that healthy children have "normal" blood pressure. But, as Dr Margaret Golding of the Department of Health at the University of Bristol points out, no research has been undertaken to investigate what that "normal"...

## Unit 1 ### Text A. Early Predictions on Blood Pressure Most people would assume that healthy children have "normal" blood pressure. But, as Dr Margaret Golding of the Department of Health at the University of Bristol points out, no research has been undertaken to investigate what that "normal" blood pressure is: is it higher or lower than adults'? Or is there such a wide range that the idea of a normal blood pressure is meaningless? Five years ago nearly 15,000 children from all parts of the country who were born in April 1970, were picked to take part in the British National Cohort Study. They were measured for height and weight, and a note was made of where they lived, their sex and social backgrounds. Among other things their blood pressures were also measured. This massive amount of information is gradually being sifted, and next month Dr Golding starts a two-year study - funded by the British Heart Foundation - to discover more about children's blood pressure. Does it, for example, vary with height or weight, with the child's sex, or whether the child enters puberty early? Later, Dr Golding will look to see if there are any geographical trends or any links with social class. In time, this information may be used to help predict which children may grow up to have problems as adults and so help in the prevention of heart disease. ### Hypertension Abnormally high tension, alluding to blood pressure and involving systolic and/or diastolic levels. There is no universal agreement of their upper limits of normal blood pressure, especially in increasing age. Many cardiologists consider a resting systolic pressure of 160 mm mercury (mmHg), and/or a resting diastolic pressure of 100 mmHg, to be pathological. #### Vocabulary - to assume: предполагать, допускать - to undertake research: провести исследование - to investigate: исследовать, изучить - adult: взрослый человек - a wide range of: широкий диапазон - meaningless: бессмысленный - to be picked to take part: быть выбранным для участия - cohort: [kou'ho:t] группа людей, объединенных общей целью - a note was made: отмечалось, фиксировалось - social background: социальная принадлежность - massive amount of information: большое количество информации - to sift: тщательно анализировать (факты) - to fund: [fand] финансировать - to discover: узнать, выявить - to vary: ['veǝrı] with варьироваться, меняться в зависимости от - puberty: ['pju:bəti] to enter puberty: вступить в период половой зрелости - trend: тенденция - link: связь - to predict: предвидеть, предсказывать - prevention: зд. профилактика - to allude: [ə'lu:d] иметь отношение к - to involve: вовлекать; затрагивать - systolic: ['sıstəlık] систолический - diastolic: [dar'æstəlık] диастолический - consider: считать, рассматривать - resting blood pressure: артериальное давление в состоянии покоя ### Text B. Heart Disease Risks Certain risk factors can increase anybody's chances of developing heart disease. These risks include life style and family history. Some risks are: - **Age**: The older you get the more likely you are to develop heart disease. - **Sex**: More men develop heart disease and develop it earlier than women do. The gap begins to narrow after the menopause and women "catch up" with men around 65. - **Heredity**: If members of your family have had heart disease, you are more likely to develop it. Race is also a risk factor: black Americans have a greater risk of heart disease than white Americans, mainly because they have higher average blood pressure levels. ### What One Can Do to Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease - **Stop smoking**: Both men's and women's hearts suffer the same effects of smoking - clotting, constricted arteries and reduction of oxygen supply - but smoking also eliminates the natural protection women obtain from the hormone estrogen. A woman who smokes and takes oral contraceptives is up to 39 times as likely to have a heart attack as women who do neither. But the coronary risk from smoking declines rapidly within a few years of stopping, so it is well worth the effort to give up the habit. - **Diet**: Make an effort to eat foods that are low in fat. Try to limit fat to 30 percent of your daily calories. ### Blood pressure Small elevations above a threshold of 140/90 can greatly increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. ### Exercise Obesity, even as little as being 5 to 14 percent overweight, raises the risk of heart attack. #### Vocabulary - gap: интервал, промежуток; зд. разрыв - to narrow: сделать уже, сократить; зд. сужаться, сокращаться - menopause: ['menoupo:z] менопауза - to catch up with smb: догнать кого-л. - average: средний - heredity: [hr'rediti] наследственность - to clot: свертываться (о крови) - constricted arteries: закупоренные артерии - to eliminate: уничтожить - to give up the habit: бросить привычку - threshold: ['erefhould] порог - obesity: [ou'bi:siti] ожирение