Material4_7综合英语专四阅读训练.doc

Material 4-7 Text A You probably already know that a viselike pressure in the chest is the most common physical sign of a heart attack. You may even be aware that the body sometimes has the pain of a heart I attack, sending to the neck, jaw or arms. But do you know the second, third or fourth most J common sign of a heart attack? You should. According to a study in Journal of the American 1 Medical Association (JAMA), recognizing the less common signs of a heart attack could save I your life or that of someone you love. Speed makes a difference. Heart-attack victims who dont experience chest pain typically put off going to the hospital—by an average of two hours, the JAMA study found. When these patients finally show up at the emergency room, it often takes doctors longer to make the right diagnosis. Their heart isnt getting potentially life-saving treatment with clot-busting drugs, or emergency angioplasty. These delays help explain why a heart-attack patient who doesnt experience chest pains is twice as likely to die at the hospital as someone who does. By studying a computerized data of more than 430,000 people who suffered heart attacks across the U. S., it was determined that there are six major risk factors that increase the chances that any heart attack you suffer will be atypical. These six risk factors include; having a weak heart (from congestive heart disease), diabetes or a history of stroke; being 65 or older, female or from a minority group. The increased risk is cumulative: If a 75-year-old black woman has a heart attack, her chances of experiencing chest pain are less than 50%. Apparently diabetics feel less pain because of nerve damage caused by their condition, but no one knows why women or the elderly are more likely to suffer painless heart attacks. So what, besides chest pain, should you watch for? Probably the next biggest tip-off is extreme shortness of breath. Indeed, many cardiologists consider difficulty breathing to be as good an indicator