Egyptian princess had heart disease

Summary of story from the BBC, May 17, 2011

An Egyptian princess who lived 3,500 years ago had heart disease, which shows that heart disease pre-dates a modern lifestyle, researchers say.

Princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon was from an illustrious Egyptian family, lived in what is now Luxor from the year 1580 BC, and died in her 40s.

Recent scans of her mummified body showed she had extensive blockages in arteries leading to her heart, brain, stomach and legs.

“Her diet was significantly healthier than ours. She would have eaten fruit and vegetables – and fish were plentiful in the Nile at that time,” Dr Gregory Thomas, from the University of California, said.

“The food would have been organic – and there were no trans-fats or tobacco available then.”

“Yet, she had these blockages. This suggests to us that there’s a missing risk factor for heart disease – something that causes it that we don’t yet know enough about.”