Ancient Evidence of Heart Disease Found

It turns out that researchers have found evidence of heart disease in Egyptian mummies, thus negating the claim that heart disease is a relatively recent historical development. The evidence of heart disease was found in the hardened arteries of the excavated mummies.

22 mummies were examined for calcium buildup, which is a marker for vascular disease. The researchers were able to identify the hearts and arteries in 16 of them; 9 had calcium deposits. An analysis showed the deposits were probable evidence of atherosclerosis, which leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Heart Disease is actually the world’s leading killer and is growing in developing countries such as China and India. The disease is often linked to urbanization and the modern lifestyle, so that’s why researchers are shocked with their findings in these ancient mummies. After doing research to see how common atherosclerosis was in people from earlier times, researchers found that modern-day atherosclerosis was identical to the evidence found in the mummies.

When trying to discover how the mummies got the disease, they could not exactly tell how, but what is interesting is that they were all of an elite class. Some researchers are suggesting that since refrigeration was not in existence at the time, and because salt was thus used to preserve meat, these factors may have contributed to this observation.