Researchers have discovered that mummies also suffered from heart disease. They found hardening of the arteries in mummies indicating that the risk factors for heart disease may go back to ancient times.
 
A joint team of scientists from the U.S. and Egypt carried out medical scans on 22 mummies from Cairo’s Museum of Antiquities.
 
They found proof indicating hardened arteries in three of them and possible heart disease in three more.
 
All mummies belonged to higher social-economic bracket and would have had a diet rich in fats.
 
The bodies of these subjects were preserved by mummification since they were serving in the court of the Pharaoh or were priests.
 
The X-rays of all the subjects were checked by five experienced cardiovascular imaging physicians on this team.
 
Out of the total 22 mummies 16 had identifiable arteries or hearts left in their bodies after the mummification process.
 
9 mummies had deposits of calcium on the walls of the artery leading to the heart or in the patch meant for the artery. Some of the mummies had calcification in up to 6 arteries.
 
No difference could be observed between male and female mummies.
 
Researchers noted that ancient Egyptians did not smoke tobacco, eat processed food or lead sedentary lives, but they were not hunter gatherers.
 
Meat must have been a part of the diet of the well-off and agriculture was well established.
 
Dr Gregory Thomas, from the University of California, said: “Humans in ancient times had the genetic predisposition and environment to promote the development of heart disease. The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease."