Atherosclerosis evident in four ancient populations, including hunter-gatherers

CT scans of mummies from four geographical regions across a period of 4000 years suggest that atherosclerosis was more common in ancient populations than previously believed. Studying individuals from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, ancestral Puebloans of southwestern America, and hunter-gatherers from the Aleutian Islands, researchers were able to identify atherosclerosis in more than one-third of the mummified specimens, raising the possibility that humans have a natural predisposition to the disease. "Our findings greatly increase the number of ancient people known to have atherosclerosis and show for the first time that the disease was common in several ancient cultures with varying lifestyles, diets, and genetics, across a wide geographical distance and over a very long span of human history," according to the researchers. "These findings suggest that our understanding of the causative factors of atherosclerosis is incomplete and that atherosclerosis could be inherent to the process of human aging." The study is published March 10, 2013 in the Lancet to coincide with a presentation here at the American College of Cardiology 2013 Scientific Sessions

Egyptian mummy 'first to have diseased heart'

An Egyptian princess who lived 3,500 years ago is thought to be the first known person to have developed heart disease, say researchers. Doctors believe the princess would have needed a heart bypass if she were living now. Scans showed she had extensive blockages in arteries leading to her heart, brain, stomach and legs. The researchers say her case shows heart disease pre-dates a modern lifestyle. Cardiac researchers from the US teamed up with colleagues at Al Azhar University in Cairo to analyse the remains of 52 mummies, including those of the princess. They performed full-body scans on mummies at the National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. They had found evidence of hardening of the arteries in almost half the mummies scanned, researchers told a medical conference in Amsterdam