What test was used to determine signs of heart disease in Egyptian Mummies?
A new study revealed that heart disease, or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, was found in 3,500-year old mummies, meaning that heart disease is not a disease of modern man. Researchers used six-slice computed X-ray tomography (CT) scans to examine 20 mummies housed in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt to see if there was heart and blood vessel tissue in the subjects. The researchers determined that all mummies were of high social status. They found evidence of blood vessels or heart tissue in 13 of the mummies of which four had intact heart, three had definite atherosclerosis or a buildup of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances in the inner walls of blood vessels, and three probably had atherosclerosis or heart disease. Calcification was more commonly present in the mummies estimated to be 45 years or older. The study was presented on Tuesday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., and published in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal o
ORLANDO, Fla. — You can’t blame this one on McDonald’s: Researchers have found signs of heart disease in 3,500-year-old mummies. “We think of it as being caused by modern risk factors,” such as fast food, smoking and a lack of exercise, but the findings show that these aren’t the only reasons arteries clog, said Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City. He and several other researchers used CT scans, a type of X-ray, on 22 mummies kept in the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. The subjects were from 1981 B.C. to 334 A.D. Half were thought to be over 45 when they died, and average lifespan was under 50 back then. Sixteen mummies had heart and blood vessel tissue to analyze. Definite or probable hardening of the arteries was seen in nine. “We were struck by the similar appearance of vascular calcification in the mummies and our present-day patients,” said another researcher, Dr. Michael Miyamoto of the University of California
CT scans of Egyptian mummies, some as much as 3,500 years old, show evidence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which is normally thought of as a disease caused by modern lifestyles, researchers said Tuesday. The study, presented at the American Heart Assn. meeting in Orlando, Fla., was conceived by Dr. Gregory Thomas, a cardiologist at UC Irvine, after he read about Pharoah Merenptah at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. When he died at age 60 in 1203 BC, Merenptah was plagued by atherosclerosis, arthritis and dental decay.
A new study revealed that heart disease, or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, was found in 3,500-year old mummies, meaning that heart disease is not a disease of modern man. Researchers used six-slice computed X-ray tomography (CT) scans to examine 20 mummies housed in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt to see if there was heart and blood vessel tissue in the subjects. The researchers determined that all mummies were of high social status. They found evidence of blood vessels or heart tissue in 13 of the mummies of which four had intact heart, three had definite atherosclerosis or a buildup of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances in the inner walls of blood vessels, and three probably had atherosclerosis or heart disease. Calcification was more commonly present in the mummies estimated to be 45 years or older. The study was presented on Tuesday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., and published in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal o
ORLANDO, Fla. — You can’t blame this one on McDonald’s: Researchers have found signs of heart disease in 3,500-year-old mummies. “We think of it as being caused by modern risk factors,” such as fast food, smoking and a lack of exercise, but the findings show that these aren’t the only reasons arteries clog, said Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City. He and several other researchers used CT scans, a type of X-ray, on 22 mummies kept in the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. The subjects were from 1981 B.C. to 334 A.D. Half were thought to be over 45 when they died, and average lifespan was under 50 back then. Sixteen mummies had heart and blood vessel tissue to analyze. Definite or probable hardening of the arteries was seen in nine. “We were struck by the similar appearance of vascular calcification in the mummies and our present-day patients,” said another researcher, Dr. Michael Miyamoto of the University of California
