Heart Disease Found in Egyptian Mummies

 Hardening of the arteries has been detected in Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, suggesting that the factors causing heart attack and stroke are not only modern ones; they afflicted ancient people, too.

Study results are appearing in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and are being presented Nov. 17 at the Scientific Session of the American Heart Association at Orlando, Fla.

"Atherosclerosis is ubiquitous among modern day humans and, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, we found that it was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socioeconomic status living as much as three millennia ago," says UC Irvine clinical professor of cardiology Dr. Gregory Thomas, a co-principal investigator on the study. "The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease."

The nameplate of the Pharaoh Merenptah (c. 1213-1203 BC) in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities reads that, when he died at approximately age 60, he was afflicted with atherosclerosis, arthritis, and dental decay. Intrigued that atherosclerosis may have been widespread among ancient Egyptians, Thomas and a team of U.S. and Egyptian cardiologists, joined by experts in Egyptology and preservation, selected 20 mummies on display and in the basement of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities for scanning on a Siemens 6 slice CT scanner during the week of Feb. 8, 2009.

The mummies underwent whole body scanning with special attention to the cardiovascular system. The researchers found that 9 of the 16 mummies who had identifiable arteries or hearts left in their bodies after the mummification process had calcification either clearly seen in the wall of the artery or in the path were the artery should have been. Some mummies had calcification in up to 6 different arteries.

Using skeletal analysis, the Egyptology and preservationist team was able to estimate the age at death for all the mummies and the names and occupations in the majority. 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 most ancient Egyptian afflicted with atherosclerosis was Lady Rai, who lived to an estimated age of 30 to 40 years around 1530 BC and had been the 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).

In those mummies whose identities could be determined, all were of high socioeconomic status, generally serving in the court of the Pharaoh or as priests or priestess. While the diet of any one mummy could not be determined, eating meat in the form of cattle, ducks and geese was not uncommon during these times.

"While we do not know whether atherosclerosis caused the demise of any of the mummies in the study, we can confirm that the disease was present in many," Thomas says.

In addition to Thomas, Dr. Adel Allam of the Al Azhar Medical School in Cairo, Egypt, is the study's co-principal investigator. Dr. Randall Thompson of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo.; Dr. L. Samuel Wann of the Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Milwaukee; and Dr. Michael Miyamoto of UC San Diego also contributed to the JAMA report.

The Egyptology and preservationist team consisted of Abd el-Halim Nur el-Din and Gomma Ab el-Maksoud of Cairo University; Ibrahem Badr of the Institute of Restoration in Alexandria, Egypt; Hany Abd el-Amer of the National Research Center in Dokki, Giza, Egypt.

The authors express their appreciation to Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, for allowing them to scan these mummies and perform this investigation.
Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Irvine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Just One Cigarette Has Harmful Effect

Smoking Gun: Just One Cigarette Has Harmful Effect On Arteries Of Young Healthy Adults

Even one cigarette has serious adverse effects on young adults, according to research presented by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Her study found that smoking one cigarette increases the stiffness of the arteries in 18 to 30 year olds by a whopping 25 per cent.

Arteries that are stiff or rigid increase resistance in the blood vessels, making the heart work harder. The stiffer the artery, the greater the risk for heart disease or stroke.

"Young adults aged 20-24 years have the highest smoking rate of all age groups in Canada," says Dr. Daskalopoulou, an internal medicine and vascular medicine specialist at McGill University Health Centre. "Our results are significant because they suggest that smoking just a few cigarettes a day impacts the health of the arteries. This was revealed very clearly when these young people were placed under physical stress, such as exercise."

The study compared the arterial stiffness of young smokers (five to six cigarettes a day) to non-smokers. The median age was 21 years. Arterial measurements were taken in the radial artery (in the wrist), the carotid artery (in the neck), and in the femoral artery (in the groin), at rest and after exercise.

Arterial stiffness in both smokers and non-smokers was measured using a new but well established method called applanation tonometry. Dr. Daskalopoulou introduced the 'arterial stress test' which measures the arteries' response to the stress of exercise. The test is comparable to a cardiac stress test, which measures the heart's response to the stress of exercise.

"In effect we were measuring the elasticity of arteries under challenge from tobacco," explains Dr. Daskalopoulou.

An initial arterial stress test was carried out to establish a baseline measurement for both the non-smokers and the smokers, who were asked not to smoke for 12 hours prior to the test. After the first meeting, smokers returned and smoked one cigarette each and then repeated the stress test. During the final meeting, smokers were asked to chew a piece of nicotine gum prior to the stress test.

Dr. Daskalopoulou found that after exercise the arterial stiffness levels in non-smokers dropped by 3.6 per cent. Smokers, however, showed the reverse: after exercise their arterial stiffness increased by 2.2 per cent. After nicotine gum, it increased by 12.6 per cent. After one cigarette, it increased by 24.5 per cent.

Interestingly, there was no difference in the arterial stiffness measurements between smokers and non-smokers at rest.

"In effect, this means that even light smoking in otherwise young healthy people can damage the arteries, compromising the ability of their bodies to cope with physical stress, such as climbing a set of stairs or running to catch a bus," says Dr. Daskalopoulou. "It seems that this compromise to respond to physical stress occurs first, before the damage of the arteries becomes evident at rest."

"More than 47,000 Canadians will die prematurely each year due to tobacco use, which often starts in the teen years," warns Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Beth Abramson. "We know that over 90 per cent of teenagers who smoke as few as three to four cigarettes a day may be trapped into a lifelong habit of regular smoking, which typically lasts 35 to 40 years."

Smoking contributes to the build up of plaque in the arteries, increases the risk of blood clots, reduces the oxygen in the blood, increases blood pressure, and makes the heart work harder. Smoking also nearly doubles the risk of ischemic stroke.

Dr. Abramson says this study reinforces the importance of education, prevention programs, and legislation such as the recently passed Bill C-32, Cracking Down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed at Youth Act.
Adapted from materials provided by Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.