NBPA為退休球星做心臟病篩檢 - NBA

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Former stars have hearts checked at first NBPA-organized screening
NBPA(NBA球員工會)為退休球員做了第一次心臟病篩檢



A couple rosters' worth of basketball players got together at the Toyota
Center in Houston on Saturday for health screenings, the first implementation
of a program for retired players started by the National Basketball Players
Association.

About 25 retired NBA players showed up for the screenings, which included
heart testing. The NBPA initiated talks on the screenings at their July
meetings, and the effort was given added urgency with the heart-related
deaths of Moses Malone and Darryl Dawkins.

上週日，大約有25名退休球員到火箭主場館 Toyota Center 一起做健檢，這項計劃是由
NBPA 發起的。7月的時候，球員工會就在討論規劃，而催生這個方案進行的是，10月中
因為心臟病過世的 Moses Malone 跟 Darryl Dawkins。

In a conference room provided by the Houston Rockets, physicians met with the
retired players to discuss their medical history, test blood pressure,
administer EKGs to check the heart's electrical activity, perform an
echocardiogram to check the structure of the heart, scan carotids to look for
plaque buildup in the arteries, check for sleep apnea and draw blood. The
retired players also received attachments for their cellphones that can
perform EKGs and send the results to cardiologists.

"Even in this small sample of patients that we've done, we've been able to
get some abnormalities," said Dr. Manuel Reyes, a cardiologist with Houston
Cardiovascular Associates at the Houston Medical Center. "A couple of
incidents with decreased heart function, weakened left ventricle, which is
the main chamber of the heart."

火箭隊提供了會議室，讓醫師跟退休球員諮詢病史、量血壓、從心電圖診察心臟活動
狀況、掃描頸動脈是否有血栓塞、睡眠中是否呼吸中斷，還有抽血檢查。退休球員可以
從他們的手機獲得診斷報告，手機會測個人心電圖、傳送給醫師。

休士頓醫療中心的 Manuel Reyes 醫師說，「從病人身上取得這些簡易的樣本，已經足夠
讓我們發現一些異樣。心臟功能衰弱跟左心室息息相關，因為左心室是心臟運送血液到
全身的主要部位。」

Since 2000, more than 50 former NBA players have died of complications
related to heart disease, according to the Philadelphia-based news site Billy
Penn. It is unclear if basketball players are more susceptible to heart
disease, which was one of the secondary aspects of screening former players.

"That's one of the things that we're looking to benefit is the research
component," said Joe Rogowski, the players' union director of sports medicine
and research. "We're looking for trends. There's never been a real study that
looks at this population and looks for norms and trends. They're bigger. They
carry more weight, which leads to other factors, such as diabetes and high
blood pressure."

根據費城新聞網站 Billy Penn 的報導 https://goo.gl/kK4dik ，自 2000 年以來，
已經有超過 50 位退休球員死於心臟疾病。籃球員是否較容易有心臟疾病，目前仍不明朗，
這會是下一個關注的議題。

球員工會醫護主管 Joe Rogowski說，「這是我們正在研究的項目之一，我們在找病理
相關性，以前從未有這部分的研究。他們(退休球員)比較高大，他們承受較多的體重，
這會是其他隱疾的因素，像是糖尿病和高血壓。」

Union executive director Michele Roberts and NBA commissioner Adam Silver
both said earlier this year that cardiac testing was a high priority. Silver
said the NBA was prepared to provide the union with both financial support
and a vast array of medical resources.

Union representatives presented their vision of comprehensive screening for
retirees to current players at their annual Las Vegas meeting in July.
Sources said players voted to set aside funds to implement screenings. The
larger -- and more costly -- issue of supplementing health insurance is
slated to be addressed at their February meetings, when a more comprehensive
blueprint would be available.

工會執行長 Michele Roberts 跟 NBA 聯盟主席 Adam Silver 今年都曾說過，心臟測試
是個較優先做的事。Silver 說聯盟準備提供一筆資金給工會，讓工會擁有較豐富的醫療
資源。

7月在拉斯維加斯，工會代表在年度會議向現役球員表達篩檢的觀點，有消息說，球員票選
要設立篩檢基金，而更龐大(更花錢)的醫療補助金，暫訂明年二月再進行更詳細討論。

The ages of the deceased players are alarming. Malone was 60. Dawkins was 58.
Caldwell Jones, who died last year, was 64. Other recent deaths of former
players include Jack Haley, 51, and Anthony Mason, 48.

"Something's got to be done," said Rogowski, who was an athletic trainer and
strength and conditioning coach for 10 years in the NBA. "The NFL is dealing
with their issues with retired players. This may be our issue that we're
dealing with retired players on."

It has injected a beneficial dosage of fear into a group that is unaccustomed
to confronting their own physical weaknesses.

已故球員的辭世年紀漸漸在向人示警。Moses Malone 60歲、Darryl Dawkins 58歲，去年
過世的 Caldwell Jones 享年 64歲，還有最近去世的 Jack Haley 51歲、Anthony Mason
48歲。

在 NBA服務十年的體能防護員 Joe Rogowski 說，「有些事已經做好了。NFL(美式足球
聯盟)已為他們退休球員建立了機制，而 NBA 這部分是我們要做的。」

一群不願面對自己身體脆弱一面的人，那些病逝的事，都已經向他們示警。

"Guys have said, 'If something's wrong, I don't want to know,'" said Harvey
Catchings, 64, an 11-year NBA veteran who went to the screening in Houston.
"I talked to guys: 'It's not about you. It's about your family, too. What
happens to you affects them.'

"When you're out there playing, 'Nothing can happen to me.' Then when you
start seeing guys fall -- we lost Moses, we lost Darryl, we lost Caldwell --
you start thinking about, we've got to do a better job of taking care of
myself. Part of that is knowing what I've got to deal with.

現年64歲，11年 NBA資歷的老球星 Harvey Catchings 說，「人們會說『如果有什麼不對
勁的，我不想知道』，我告訴那些人『這不只是你個人的事，這還攸關到你的家人，你發
生什麼會影響他們』。」

「當你出去玩，『意外才不會發生在我身上』，然後當你開始看那些人離開... 我們失去
了 Moses、Darryl、Caldwell，你就會開始想到，我們要更照顧自己的身體。從他們的
事讓我學會我還能做的事。」

"You get so much information from an EKG, from an echo. It's the reality of
life. We're no longer spring chickens. You just understand that you've got to
take good care of yourself."

No former player has felt the loss more than Major Jones, Caldwell Jones'
brother who was a teammate of Malone on the Rockets in the early 1980s.

「你能從心電圖、脈搏去獲取更多資訊，這是生活上很實際的事，我們不用再膽怯，你才
明白你該怎樣照顧你自己。」

Caldwell Jones 的弟弟是 Major Jones，他曾是 Moses Malone 80年代火箭的隊友，沒人
比他更感傷了。(去年底失去哥哥、今年失去老隊友)

"I think of Moses in the same sense I think of my brother Caldwell," Jones
said. "It's difficult. The memories, they'll always be with you. But you miss
them physically."

Major Jones, 62, is a prostate cancer survivor. A test in April indicated the
presence of a small hole in his heart. He adjusted his diet -- more
vegetables and fruits, less red meat -- and said the hole could no longer be
detected in the tests performed Saturday.

Sometimes the screenings can provide good news. Either way, it's important to
be informed. That's a step the players' association took Saturday.

Major Jones說，「想念 Moses 跟我哥的感覺是一樣的，很難過的，在記憶中，他們總是
在我身邊，但你是真的失去他們了。」

Major Jones現年 62歲，是個前列腺癌的倖存者。四月曾被診斷出心臟有個小洞，他開始
調整他的飲食，吃更多蔬菜水果、減少吃紅肉，上週六已不再發現那個小洞了。

有時檢查可以提供好消息，不管檢查結果如何，重要的是能讓自己知道(怎麼面對)。
上週六的篩檢對球員工會來說是一個進步。


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