A team of U.S. and Egyptian researchers claim to have found signs of hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, in 3500-year-old mummies.
"Atherosclerosis is ubiquitous among modern-day humans and, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, we found that it was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socioeconomic status," said co-author Dr. Gregory Thomas at the University of California, Irvine.
22 mummies studied
To find out whether ancient people had heart disease too, researchers from the University of California, the Mid America Heart Institute, Wisconsin Heart Hospital, and Al Azhar Medical School in Cairo carried out CT scans, a type of X-ray, on 22 mummies kept in the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo.
Aged 20 to 60 at the time of death, all the mummies, dating back to 1981 B.C. - 364 A.D., hailed from a high socio-economic status.
Mummies were found to have hardened arteries
Through the CT scan reports, researchers found an evidence of hardening of arteries or blood vessels in 16 of the 22 mummies.
Furthermore, the mummies were examined to find out the accumulation of calcium in their blood vessels. The scientists hypnotized that there will be no calcium in their arteries.
However, their hypothesis proved untrue. Calcification was found in nine out of 16 mummies including definitive calcification in five while probable in four.
It was also noted that hardening of arteries was mainly evident in mummies aged 45 or older at the time of death.
"We were struck by the similar appearance of vascular calcification in the mummies and our present-day patients," said Dr. Michael Miyamoto of the University of California at San Diego. "Perhaps the development of atherosclerosis is a part of being human as we are observing the footprint of the same disease process in people who lived thousands of years ago."
Dr. Thomas said, "While we do not know whether atherosclerosis caused the demise of any of the mummies in the study, we can confirm that the disease was present in many.
"So humans in ancient times had the genetic predisposition and environment to promote the development of heart disease. The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease."
Funded by the German imaging company Siemens AG, the National Bank of Egypt, and the Mid-America Heart Institute, the study appears in the Journal of American Medical Association.
The study’s findings were also presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009.
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