Post by Wes Gear on May 19, 2011 14:41:29 GMT 10
Egyptian princess shows heart disease is an ancient problem
THE oldest case of human heart disease has been discovered in an Egyptian princess - contradicting the theory that clogged arteries are the result of a modern lifestyle.
Researchers from the University of California, presenting their findings at a conference in Amsterdam yesterday, worked out that 3500-year-old Princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, who died in her forties, had suffered from diseased arteries.
The princess lived in Thebes [now Luxor] between 1580BC and 1550BC and was the daughter of Seqenenre Tao II, the last pharaoh of the 17th dynasty.
Egyptians living in this period are widely believed to have lived on a diet of vegetables, fruit, small amounts of lean meat and barley, but royals were likely to have access to red meats such as beef, pork, antelope and duck.
"Today she would have needed bypass surgery," said lead author Dr Gregory Thomas, speaking at the International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging.
Using computerised tomography scans, the researchers found that around 20 other mummies from the period also had calcification [or atherosclerosis] in their arteries.
"It was striking how much atherosclerosis we found," said Dr Thomas.
"We think of atherosclerosis as a disease of modern lifestyle, but it's clear that it also existed 3,500 years ago."
Calcification occurs when fatty material builds up inside arteries and eventually hardens into plaque, increasing the risk of heart attacks, stroke or pulmonary embolism [a blockage of arteries in the lungs}.
Read more: www.news.com.au/world/egyptian-princess-shows-heart-disease-is-an-ancient-problem/story-e6frfkyi-1226058469548#ixzz1MloQvTqR
THE oldest case of human heart disease has been discovered in an Egyptian princess - contradicting the theory that clogged arteries are the result of a modern lifestyle.
Researchers from the University of California, presenting their findings at a conference in Amsterdam yesterday, worked out that 3500-year-old Princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, who died in her forties, had suffered from diseased arteries.
The princess lived in Thebes [now Luxor] between 1580BC and 1550BC and was the daughter of Seqenenre Tao II, the last pharaoh of the 17th dynasty.
Egyptians living in this period are widely believed to have lived on a diet of vegetables, fruit, small amounts of lean meat and barley, but royals were likely to have access to red meats such as beef, pork, antelope and duck.
"Today she would have needed bypass surgery," said lead author Dr Gregory Thomas, speaking at the International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging.
Using computerised tomography scans, the researchers found that around 20 other mummies from the period also had calcification [or atherosclerosis] in their arteries.
"It was striking how much atherosclerosis we found," said Dr Thomas.
"We think of atherosclerosis as a disease of modern lifestyle, but it's clear that it also existed 3,500 years ago."
Calcification occurs when fatty material builds up inside arteries and eventually hardens into plaque, increasing the risk of heart attacks, stroke or pulmonary embolism [a blockage of arteries in the lungs}.
Read more: www.news.com.au/world/egyptian-princess-shows-heart-disease-is-an-ancient-problem/story-e6frfkyi-1226058469548#ixzz1MloQvTqR
Happy New Years Everybody!!!
