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# Heart Disease Found in Mummies
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/heart_disease_found_in_mummies_171120090933/
- Published: 2009-11-17T21:33:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:06:34.000Z
- Description: CT scans of 20 high-status Egyptian mummies found heart or blood vessel tissue in 13, three with definite atherosclerosis and three probable, with calcification more common in those aged 45 or older. Researchers presented the work to the American Heart Association.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Disease, Health News, #vivvo-import

*By David Liu and editing by Rachel Stockton*

A new study revealed that heart disease, or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, was found in 3,500-year old mummies, meaning that heart disease is not a disease of modern man.

Researchers used six-slice computed X-ray tomography (CT) scans to examine 20 mummies housed in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt to see if there was heart and blood vessel tissue in the subjects.

The researchers determined that all mummies were of high social status. They found evidence of blood vessels or heart tissue in 13 of the mummies of which four had intact heart, three had definite atherosclerosis or a buildup of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances in the inner walls of blood vessels, and three probably had atherosclerosis or heart disease. Calcification was more commonly present in the mummies estimated to be 45 years or older.

The study was presented on Tuesday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., and published in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research was funded by Siemens, National Bank of Egypt and Mid-America Heart Institute.

Modern man may be at even higher risk for heart disease. Dr. Colin To Campbell, a world-famous nutritionist at Cornell University says in his book China Study that plaque buildup was found in more than 70 percent of younger soldiers who died in the Korea War. He suggests that diet makes a big difference. Ninety nine percent of people with artery buildup who followed a diet with high amounts of plant-based foods, but less or no animal-based foods improved or even reversed their condition.