Heart disease haunted mummies, too

Egyptologists preparing the mummy Hatiay (New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1550 to 1295 BCE) for CT scanning in Cairo, Egypt, which later demonstrated evidence of extensive vascular disease. PHOTO: WWW.PHILLY.COM

Though the pyramids are proof of the ancient Egyptians' architectural skills, new research on mummies tucked away inside them unearths a lesser known fact: heart disease was as common then as it is today.
Much to their surprise, when scientists did full-body CT scans of 4,000-year-old mummies they discovered evidence of hardening of the arteries.
Atherosclerosis that causes narrowed blood vessel is supposed to be a disease of modern civilisation, this study have found something surprising.