Title
Computed tomographic evidence of atherosclerosis in the mummified remains of humans from around the world
Date Issued
01 January 2014
Access level
open access
Resource Type
review
Author(s)
Thompson R.C.
Allam A.H.
Zink A.
Wann L.S.
Cox S.L.
Frohlich B.
Sutherland M.L.
Sutherland J.D.
Frohlich T.C.
King S.I.
Miyamoto M.I.
Monge J.M.
Valladolid C.M.
El-Halim Nur El-Din A.
Narula J.
Thompson A.M.
Finch C.E.
Thomas G.S.
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Publisher(s)
Elsevier
Abstract
Although atherosclerosis is widely thought to be a disease of modernity, computed tomographic evidence of atherosclerosis has been found in the bodies of a large number of mummies. This article reviews the findings of atherosclerotic calcifications in the remains of ancient people - humans who lived across a very wide span of human history and over most of the inhabited globe. These people had a wide range of diets and lifestyles and traditional modern risk factors do not thoroughly explain the presence and easy detectability of this disease. Nontraditional risk factors such as the inhalation of cooking fire smoke and chronic infection or inflammation might have been important atherogenic factors in ancient times. Study of the genetic and environmental risk factors for atherosclerosis in ancient people may offer insights into this common modern disease. © 2014 World Heart Federation (Geneva). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Start page
187
End page
196
Volume
9
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Sistema cardiaco, Sistema cardiovascular
Radiología, Medicina nuclear, Imágenes médicas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84905495705
PubMed ID
Source
Global Heart
ISSN of the container
22118160
Sponsor(s)
Funding for this study was supplied by the National Endowment for the Humanities (# HJ-50069-12 ), the Paleocardiology Foundation, Siemens, the National Bank of Egypt, and the Saint Luke's Hospital Foundation of Kansas City.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus