Lowering the Risk of Heart Disease
Like millions of other Americans, I come from a family with a histotry of the heart disease. My father had his first three heart attacks when he was only thirty-one. _____________(46) I grew up with heart disease. It was there, but I didn’t take it seriouly.
When I was thirty-one, my blood cholesterol(胆固醇)level was measured for the first time.It was 311 mg/dl, the doctor told me- an extremely high level that put me at a very high high risk of heart disease, especially with my family history. He sent me to the National Institutes of Health(NIH)to be screened for participation in a clinical trial._____________(47)
At NIH, physicians explained the degree of risk associated with my blood cholesterol level and the nature of the experiment. This test involves putting a tube through a leg artery(动脉) up to the heart._____________(48)
Learning about the risks of the experiment as well sa the risk associated with my raised blood cholesterol level scared the life out of me. Although I was excluded from participating in the study, the experience may well have saved my life.
For the first time, I began to realize the seriousness of high blood cholesterol.___________(49) But equally important, I got a taste of what it is like to be a patient, to have tests done on me and to think of myself as sick.This was hard to take.
This experience taught me two lifesaving lessons. First, although I felt fit and strong, I was actually at high risk for heart disease because of my high blood cholesterol level. And with my family histaory, it could not be ignored.________________(50)
