Bad headline, sorry – but I have a limited number of characters and I wasn’t sure how to word this. How about:
Some Egyptians Who Died and Were Mummified Had Heart Disease, Just Like Us in the Year 2009.
Too long, huh?
Researchers don’t only research current issues, such as finding cures for cancer or ways to make body parts regrow, they also look back in an attempt to understand what happened in earlier times.
In this particular study, researchers were looking for signs of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, in mummies. We tend to think of heart disease as a modern problem, but the earlier discovery of the Pharaoh Merenptah (c. 1213-1203 BC), who was 60 years old at his death, having had atherosclerosis, arthritis and dental decay led researchers to study other mummies to see if this was common.
The results of their study will appear tomorrow in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
According to a co-principal investigator, UC Irvine clinical professor of cardiology Dr. Gregory Thomas, although atherosclerosis is everywhere around us these days, it was also quite common in the years BC, despite major differences in lifestyle.
It seems that the higher classes in ancient Egypt had just as high a risk as we do now. This means that there may be problems that we blame on modern times, but that may actually have their roots in other things.
For this study, researchers studied 20 mummies that were at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. These mummies were subjected to computed tomography scanning (CT scans) so researchers could see inside the bodies.
The researchers were looking for changes in the cardiovascular system. They were able to detect arteries or hearts in 16 of the mummies. Of those 16, the researchers found that nine had either the beginning of hardening of the arteries (or something similar) or worse.
Some of the study findings included:
Of the mummies who had died when they were older than 45, 7 of 8 had calcification and thus atherosclerosis while only 2 of 8 of those dying at an earlier age had calcification. Atherosclerosis did not spare women; vascular calcifications were observed in both male and female mummies.
The study included Lady Rai, who died sometime in her thirties. She was nursemaid to Queen Ahmose Nefertiri. To put this in context, Lady Rai lived about 300 years prior to the time of Moses and 200 prior to King Tutankhamun (Tut).
Eating a high fat diet, with a lot of red meat, is considered a high risk factor for heart disease in today’s society. And, while they may not have eaten a lot of red meat in the ancient Egyptian times, researchers do know that the higher status Egyptians did eat significant amounts of ducks and geese, as well as beef.
Of course, we can’t tell if the atherosclerosis was the cause of death among these mummies, but the fact that it existed shows us that there is still a lot to learn about the disease.
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Image: PhotoXpress.com
Wow. I always thought that not having processed foods and all the modern conveniences would mean they were much healthier. Maybe the wealthy didn’t get a lot of exercise because they rode around in chariots?