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Harvard research badistant, Emily Venable, 17, examines mummified remains that were subsequently undergoing a CT scan, thus revealing the presence of a plaque in the arteries.Rose Lincoln / Harvard Staff Photographer
With more than 3 million cases of atherosclerosis in the United States each year, this extremely common cardiovascular disease that results from an accumulation of fats and cholesterol in the arterial walls is the main killer people over 40 years old. But heart disease has a long history, with evidence The ancient Egyptians and linked to elite diets full of fatty foods. New evidence from Greenland mummies, however, reveals that an extremely different diet also contributed to atherosclerosis in the sixteenth century AD.
The examination of five Greenland mummies by an international research team comprising the Harvard Peabody Museum and the Brigham and Women's Hospital used CT scans to image the plaque in the arteries. This is part of a & nbsp; extensive ongoing research study to examine mummies from pre-industrial and foraging societies around the world and to determine the rate of heart disease before the introduction of high fat and high calorie diets that we observe in good number of current cases. Western societies sedentary.
The badysis of the Greenland mummies – which represent four young adults and one child from an Inuit community – revealed hardened calcium deposits in the blood vessels of the chest. The young age of these Inuit and their fish-based diets made the discovery of atherosclerosis surprising.
Dr. Ron Blankstein, Associate Director of Brigham's Cardiovascular Imaging Program, suggested that factors such as cumulative smoke exposure from home foci may have contributed to the development of this disease. the same explanation was posed for the incidence of atherosclerosis in ancient Egyptian mummies, which is comparable to the rate observed among contemporary Egyptians.
A series of articles published in recent years by the Horus research group & nbsp; detail the additional results of the large study on mummies. Mummies belonging to distinct geographical regions, including Egypt, Korea, China, Syria, Peru, South-West America and the Aleutian Islands – in addition to European mummies as the famous & ouml; tzi – all evidence presented of atherosclerosis in the scanners. Group research articles have been published in journals such as & nbsp;Global heart and & nbsp;Lancet.
The involvement of cardiologists in these studies on the ancient mummy is important both to better diagnose old diseases and to better understand the cause of atherosclerosis in contemporary people. "We do not know as much risk factors for atherosclerosis as we thought," Dr. Randall Thompson, cardiologist, St. Luke Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, author of the book. Lancet publication, said in 2014. & nbsp; "It may be that other risk factors play a bigger role than we think," such as environmental pollution by smoke.
Although heart disease has been discovered in most mummies that have been scanned to date, & nbsp; Dr. Blankstein, who has worked on Greenland's mummies, does not think that atherosclerosis is inevitable. "The majority of cardiovascular disease events that we see in [modern] patients can be prevented through proper diet, weight control and lifestyle changes, such as "he noted in a Press release. He hopes the results of the mummy project will inspire people to learn more about how to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.
For more information on Greenland's mummies, click on this short video from Brigham and Women's Hospital:
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Harvard research badistant, Emily Venable, 17, examines mummified remains that were subsequently undergoing a CT scan, thus revealing the presence of a plaque in the arteries.Rose Lincoln / Harvard Staff Photographer
With more than 3 million cases of atherosclerosis in the United States each year, this extremely common cardiovascular disease that results from a build-up of fat and cholesterol in the arterial walls is the leading cause of death in people over 40 years old. years. long history, with evidence found among ancient Egyptians and linked to an elite diet rich in fatty foods. New evidence from Greenland mummies, however, reveals that an extremely different diet also contributed to atherosclerosis in the sixteenth century AD.
The examination of five Greenland mummies by an international research team comprising the Harvard Peabody Museum and the Brigham and Women's Hospital used CT scans to image the plaque in the arteries. This is part of a larger ongoing research study aimed at examining the mummies of preindustrial and foraging societies around the world and to determine the rate of heart disease prior to the introduction of high fat diets. and the calories we see in many sedentary people today. Western societies.
The badysis of the Greenland mummies – which represent four young adults and one child from an Inuit community – revealed hardened calcium deposits in the blood vessels of the chest. The young age of these Inuit and their fish-based diets made the discovery of atherosclerosis surprising.
Dr. Ron Blankstein, Associate Director of Brigham's Cardiovascular Imaging Program, suggested that factors such as cumulative smoke exposure from home foci may have contributed to the development of this disease. The same explanation has been put forward for the incidence of atherosclerosis in ancient Egyptian mummies, which corresponds to the rate observed among contemporary Egyptians.
A series of articles published in recent years by the Horus research group detail the additional results of the study on larger mummies. Mummies from different geographical regions, including Egypt, Korea, China, Syria, Peru, South-West America and the Aleutian Islands, as well as European mummies like the famous Ötzi, have all presented signs of atherosclerosis on the scanner. Group research articles have been published in journals such as Global heart and Lancet.
The involvement of cardiologists in these studies on the ancient mummy is important both to better diagnose old diseases and to better understand the cause of atherosclerosis in contemporary people. "We do not know as much about the risk factors for atherosclerosis as we thought," said Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist, of the Mid America Heart Institute of St. Luke in Kansas City. Lancet publication, said in 2014. "There may be other risk factors that have a bigger role than we think", such as environmental pollution by smoke.
Although heart disease has been discovered in most mummies that have been the subject of a computed tomography scan to date, Dr. Blankstein, who has worked on Greenland's mummies, does not think that it's a problem. atherosclerosis is inevitable. "The majority of cardiovascular disease events that we see in [modern] Patients can be prevented through proper diet, weight control and lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise, "he said in a press release. Project results on mummies will encourage people to learn more about reducing their cardiovascular risk.
For more information on Greenland's mummies, click on this short video from Brigham and Women's Hospital:
