3,500-Year-Old Mummies Prove Ancient Origin Of Heart Disease
Heart disease is commonly considered a modern condition, but that may change thanks to research conducted by a collaborative team composed of imaging experts, Egyptologists and preservationists who have discovered evidence of the disease, which causes heart attacks and strokes, in ancient Egyptian mummies. Their results, presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009, indicate that atherosclerosis is not only a disease of modern man, but was present and not unusual in humans living 3000 years ago. Using six-slice computed X-ray tomography (CT) scans, they systematically examined 20 mummies housed in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt to see if heart and blood vessel tissue was present and to learn its condition. read more