Scientists have figured out exactly how much you need to exercise to slow your heart’s aging process
科學家已經發現你究竟需要多少的鍛鍊，才能減緩心臟的老化
It's time for a heart-to-heart. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
我們該推心置腹地聊聊了
So there’s good news and there’s bad news.
說起來，這是個好消息，同時也是個壞消息。
The good news is there are steps you can take to slow your heart’s aging process, increasing the chances of living a long, healthy, fruitful life. The trade-off is that you really do have to go to the gym.
好消息是，你可以採取一些措施來減緩心臟老化，增加一個長壽、健康、充滿收穫的生活的機率，可代價是，你真的必須要去健身房。
New research published this week in the Journal of Physiology pins down the number of days a week a person should exercise to maintain the overall health of their arteries, which stiffen with age and, as they do, increase the risk of heart disease and heart attack. Very few people experience heart attacks before age 45, and the average age is 65. But the new study suggests a way to keep your arteries physiologically 「young.」
本周在《生理學雜誌》上發表的一項新的研究報告明確說了一個人每周要鍛鍊幾天才能維持其整體動脈的健康狀況。血管動脈系統隨著年齡的增長而硬化，隨著它們的硬化，心臟病和心肌梗塞發作的風險就會增加。很少有人在45歲前有心臟病發作，心臟病發病平均年齡是65歲。但這項新研究指出了一種讓動脈生理上保持 "年輕" 的方法。
stiffen：美 [ˈstɪfən] vt. （使） 變硬，（使）強硬; 使繃緊; 使猛烈; 使粘稠
artery：美 [ˈɑ:rtəri] n. [解剖] 動脈; 幹線，要道
The study considered that every human has different-sized arteries, and found that the smaller arteries rely on fewer days of exercise per week than larger ones to maintain overall health. The takeaway: Medium-sized arteries need two to three days a week of 30-minute exercising to minimize artery stiffening. But to minimize the stiffening of equally important larger arteries, people should be exercising four to five days a week.
研究考慮到每個人的體內都有不同大小的動脈，同時發現較小的動脈與較大的動脈相比不需要那麼多天的運動就能維持整體的健康。我們從中能總結就是: 中等大小的動脈每周需要三天的30分鐘的鍛鍊，以減少動脈硬化。但是為了儘量避免或減少重要的大動脈的硬化，人們應該每周鍛鍊四到五天。
「This work is really exciting because it enables us to develop exercise programs to keep the heart youthful and even turn back time on older hearts and blood vessels,」 one of the researchers said in a statement.
一位研究人員在一份聲明中說: 「這項研究真的很令人興奮，因為它讓我們可以制定運動計劃，使心臟保持年輕，甚至可以讓時間倒流，讓年邁的心臟和血管變得年輕。「
It might not be easy, carving out more time for exercise, but at least it’s more clear what you can to do achieve better heart health over a long period of time. That’s especially positive news for people in the US, where heart disease remains particularly deadly, thanks in part to the nation’s obesity epidemic. More than 610,000 people die of heart disease in the US each year—accounting for about 25% of total deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each year more than 735,000 Americans have a heart attack and 28% of those are a second heart attack.
騰出更多的時間進行鍛鍊可能並不容易，但至少你更清楚你需要做什麼才能讓你心臟長期保持健康。這對於美國人來說是個尤其積極的消息。 在美國，心臟病依舊相當致命，部分原因是因為這個國家普遍肥胖。美國疾病控制和預防中心稱，每年美國有61萬多人死於心臟病，佔總死亡人數的25% 左右。每年有73.5萬多名美國人心臟病發作，其中28%的人是第二次心臟病發作。
obesity：美 [oˈbisɪti] n. 肥胖症; 肥胖，過胖;
epidemic：美 [ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪk] n. 流行病; 迅速的傳播、生長或發展; 風尚等的流行;
The scientists came to their findings by examining a group of 102 people—all of them older than 60—who had exercised over the course of their lives. The researchers started by measuring each person’s artery stiffness, then grouped them into four categories depending on how much they exercised through the years. One group was for people who generally exercised less that twice a week. Another was for 「casual exercisers」 who were active two to three times a week. The last two groups were for people who exercised four to five times and six to seven times per week.
科學家們通過對一組102個人的觀察得到了這一結論 — 這組人都在60歲以上—在他們的一生中都鍛鍊過。研究人員開始通過測量每個人的動脈僵硬度，然後根據每人多年來鍛鍊量，把他們分為四類。 一個小組是針對那些通常每周鍛鍊少於兩次的人。另一種是 「隨意鍛鍊者」，他們每周活動兩到三次。最後兩組是為每周鍛鍊四到五次和六到七次的人。
casual exerciser：休閒鍛鍊者，沒有刻意鍛鍊的人
「A lifelong history of 『casual exercise』 resulted in more youthful middle-sized arteries, which supply oxygenated blood to the head and neck,」 the press release states. 「However, people who exercised 4-5 times per week also had more youthful large central arteries, which provide blood to the chest and abdomen, in addition to healthier middle sized ones.」
「一生中都是「隨意運動」， 使得中等大小的動脈更加年輕，這些動脈是為頭部和頸部提供含氧血的血液，「 新聞發布指出。」然而，每周鍛鍊4-5 次的人除了有健康的中等動脈以外，還有更年輕的大的中樞動脈，這些動脈是為胸部和腹部提供血液的。」
oxygenate： 美 [ˈɑ:ksɪdʒəneɪt] v. 以氧處理，氧化
This work showed exercise training over a long period of time can slow artery damage and the aging of the heart; the researchers say the next step is to study whether it can also reverse damage and aging of the cardiovascular system.
這項研究表明，長期運動訓練可以減緩動脈損傷和心臟老化；研究人員說下一步將研究它是否也能逆轉心血管系統的損傷和衰老。
cardiovascular：美 [ˌkɑ:rdioʊˈvæskjələ(r)] adj. 心血管的
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