{{B}}Lowering the Risk of Heart Disease{{/B}}
Like millions of other Americans, I come from a family with a history of heart disease. My father had his first three heart attacks when he was only thirty-one.{{U}} (46) {{/U}}I grew up with heart disease. It was there, but I didn't take it seriously.
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 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.{{U}} (47) {{/U}}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.{{U}} (48) {{/U}}Learning about the risks of the experiment as well as 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.{{U}} (49) {{/U}}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 history, it could not be ignored.{{U}} (50) {{/U}}
A．The death rate for the test was only 1 in 100, I was assured.
B．Second, I could lower my blood cholesterol level simply by changing what I ate.
C．I was three years old at that time.
D．There is not enough oxygen in the blood.
E．It was a heart attack just waiting to happen.
F．The trial was designed to test the effect of lowering blood cholesterol on the risk of heart disease.