Photo courtesy of Dr. Michael Miyamoto / UC San Diego
It turns out that artherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, isn’t an entirely modern condition. In fact, evidence published in today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that, as long as 3,500 years ago, well-to-do Egyptians suffered from the disease. Researchers were able to diagnose the medical malady across the ages thanks to the renowned preservation techniques of the Egyptians—their “patients” were 20 mummies from Cairo’s Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. The preserved bodies were analyzed last February using CT scans, in what surely was a unique week at the hospital. Of the 16 mummies in whom the researchers could clearly identify blood vessels, and whose hearts were left in their bodies during the mummification process, nine showed clear evidence of hardened arteries.
The research, presented yesterday at a meeting of the American Heart Association, found that these mummies, who all lived roughly between 3,000 to 3,500 years ago, showed similar issues with heart disease that exist today—those who were older when they died were more likely to exhibit signs of hardening arteries, a condition that can lead to stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular complications. By analyzing the skeletal structures of the mummies, researchers determined that eight mummies lived to be older than 45. Of those, seven exhibited signs of artherosclerosis. In contrast, among the eight who died younger—few Egyptians lived past 40 in those days (King Tut died at age 18, for example)—only two exhibited signs of hardened arteries.
The team of cardiologists, who collaborated with experts in Egyptian history for this study, were not able to determine the actual causes of death for the mummified bodies, or more specifically if any of the mummies died as a result of heart disease. Yet they were able to confirm that many of the Egyptians suffered from hardened arteries, suggesting that artherosclerosis is a condition with deep roots in human history.