Pregnant Women Warned About ACE Inhibitor

　　1. Some of the most commonly used medicines for high blood pressure are drugs called ACE inhibitors. Doctors have given these drugs to patients for twenty-five years. A government study in the United States found that the use almost doubled between 1995 and 2000.

　　2. Doctors have known for years that women should not take ACE inhibitors during the last six months of pregnancy. The medicine can injure the baby. ACE inhibitors, though, have been considered safe when taken during the first three months. But a New study has found that women who take these drugs early in their pregnancy still increase the risk of birth disorders2. The study shows that, compared to others, their babies were almost three times as likely to be born with major problems.3 These included problems with the formation of the brain and nervous system and holes in the heart.

　　3. The researchers say they found no increased risk in women who took other blood pressure medicines during the first three months. Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and Boston University did the study. The New England Journal of Medicine4 published the results. The researchers studied the records of almost thirty thousand births between 1985 and 2000. Two hundred nine babies were born to women who took ACE inhibitors during the first three months of their pregnancies. Eighteen of the babies, or almost nine percent, had major disorders.

　　4. ACE inhibitors are often given to patients with diabetes. But diabetes during pregnancy can result in birth defects. So the study did not include any women known to be diabetic5. ACE inhibitors suppress a protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE. This enzyme produces a chemical in the body that makes blood passages narrow. The drugs increase the flow of blood so pressure is reduced.

　　5. New drugs are tested on pregnant animals to see if they might cause birth defects in humans. But experts say these tests are not always dependable. The United States Food and Drug Administration6 helped pay for the study. The F. D. A. says women who might become pregnant should talk with their doctor about other ways to treat high blood pressure.

　　练习：

　　1.Paragraph 2 ____________

　　2.Paragraph 3 ____________

　　3.Paragraph 4 ____________

　　4.Paragraph 5 ____________

　　A Effects of ACE and ACE Inhibitors

　　B Wide Use of ACE Inhibitors

　　C How to Deal with High Blood Pressure in Pregnant Women

　　D Damage to Pregnant Women’s Future Babies

　　E Suggestions on Stopping the Use of ACE Inhibitors

　　F F. Relative Safe for Women During the First Three Months of Pregnancies

　　5.FDA. suggests that pregnant women with high blood pressure should consult ____________.

　　6.ACE inhibitors are not recommended ____________.

　　7.Evidence showed only a small percentage of babies suffered major disorders ____________.

　　8.ACE is a risk factor to our body ____________.

　　A that may cause our blood vessels to become more and more narrow

　　B for pregnant women to take during their last six months of pregnancies

　　C that their likelihood to suffer major problems is two times higher than other babies

　　D with their doctors about how to treat their problems

　　E because diabetes during pregnancy may sometimes lead to birth defects

　　F F. though their mothers took ACE inhibitors during their first three months of pregnancies

　　答案与题解：

　　1.D　第二段说的是孕妇在孕期最后六个月服用ACE抑制剂会给未来婴儿带来伤害,婴儿患大病的可能性几乎是其他婴儿的三倍,包括大脑和神经系统发育缺陷及心脏出现空洞等。

　　2.F　第三段说患高血压的孕妇在孕期头三个月服用其他降压药,她们的危险性并没有增加;即使服用ACE抑制剂,其婴儿也只有大约9%患大病。故妊娠期前三个月相对安全。

　　3.A　第四段说，ACE抑制剂可以抑制一种叫ACE的蛋白质，ACE可以使血管变窄,而ACE 抑制剂则可增加血流使血压下降。

　　4.C　第五段说,虽然目前正在妊娠动物上试验新药,但其结果也不一定可靠,因此患高血压的妊娠妇女还是要去咨询医生。

　　5.D　本题答案在文章的最后一句。talk with与consult with的意思相同,都是“咨询、商量”的意思。

　　6.B　第二段第一句说,多年来医生已经知道,妇女在妊娠的后六个月不应该服用ACE抑制剂。

　　7.F　第三段后半部说,研究人员研究了大约30,000个婴儿,其中209个婴儿的母亲在妊娠的前三个月服用过ACE抑制剂,但只有18个婴儿患有大病,大约占9%。

　　8.A　本题答案在第四段倒数第二句,该句说,这种酶(即ACE)可使血管变窄。

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（责任编辑：何莹莹）