Egyptian Princess Needed Bypass Surgery, Mummy Study Shows
This week, Ahmose-Meryet-Amon featured prominently in two presentations given at the International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging (ICNC) in Amsterdam. Both discussed the findings of a recent study that used non-invasive computerized tomography (CT) scans on 52 mummies—including the princess’—to determine whether ancient Egyptians suffered from atherosclerosis. This chronic condition, in which fatty deposits build up in the arteries and increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, affects more people today than all forms of cancer combined.
Atherosclerosis has often been associated with unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles—risk factors believed to be more common in modern humans than in ancient peoples. For this reason, the researchers who scanned the mummies were surprised to discover that, out of the 44 with recognizable arteries, nearly half showed signs of arterial calcification, which indicates atherosclerosis....
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