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X-rays on mummies from ancient Egypt show they suffered from atherosclerosis, a heart condition

Evidence of heart disease has been found in ancient Egyptians, proving that the condition is not a modern phenomenon.

The discovery was made after a team of US and Egyptian scientists carried out X-rays on 20 mummies from Cairo's Museum of Antiquities.

Dating back more than 3,500 years, the mummies belonged to the upper classes of ancient Egypt, where a system of farming, rather than hunter-gathering, was used.

Despite their extraordinary age, 16 mummies had identifiable hearts and arteries.

The researchers found evidence of atherosclerosis, a common sign of heart disease where fat and calcium build up in the arteries, in nine out of 16 mummies. Seven of the eight mummies who survived past the age of 45 had atherosclerosis.

The research also showed that both sexes were affected, with four out of seven women and five out of nine men showing signs of the condition.

Speaking about the results, Gregory Thomas, from the University of California in Irvine, said: "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."

He also pointed out that they did not know whether arthrosclerosis caused the deaths of the mummies, but added the findings "suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease".

Lady Rai, Queen Ahmose Nefertiti's maid who lived around 200 years before the time of King Tutenkhamun, was the most ancient mummy to show signs of heart disease in the study.

The findings were announced at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando and were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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