Forensic Health Techniques Show Egyptian Mummies Had Heart Disease Too
Thanks in part to popular crime lab TV dramas, there is a growing fascination with forensic health. Visions of gruesome CSI exams aside, contemporary crime solving techniques often involve the use of CT scans as a virtual alternative to an autopsy to determine cause of death. Even in the absence of homicide, similar methods can help the medical community learn more about what fatal diseases people had in the past. Coupled with advanced technology, even mummies can provide great clues.
By conducting CT scans of Egyptian mummies, scientists have learned that hardening of the arteries is not just a byproduct of a “modern” life style. Cardiologists now realize that there is more at work here than a high-fat diet, smoking, and a
sedentary lifestyle. According to Dr. Gregory S. Thomas, a cardiologist at UC Irvine, it may be that humans are predisposed to
atherosclerosis and the condition is part of our genetic makeup.
About 18 months ago, Thomas and his colleagues studied 16 mummies and found evidence of hardened arteries in nine of them. Of those nine, eight were older than 45 years of age when they died. In a more recent study, 52 Egyptian mummies dating from 1981 BC to 364 AD were examined and calcification was found in nearly half of them. Twenty percent had died prior to the age of 40 and had calcification only in one major blood vessel. Sixty percent were older than 40 when they died and calcification was observed in many vessels. In some cases, there was...
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