Curse of Heart Disease Is Found in Mummies

Researchers said they found evidence of hardening of the arteries in Egyptian mummies dating as far back as 3,500 years, challenging longstanding assumptions that cardiovascular disease is mainly a malady of modern societies.

A team of heart-imaging experts and Egyptologists examined 22 mummies from the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo in a CT scanning machine, looking for evidence of calcium buildup that could indicate vascular disease.

They were able to identify the hearts, arteries or both in 16 of the mummies, nine of whom had deposits of ca1cification. An analysis determined the deposits were either definite or probab1e evidence of atherosclerosis，the condition that leads to heart attacks and strokes.

"Not only do we have atherosclerosis now, it was preva1ent as long as 3,500 years ago," said Gregory Thomas, a cardiologist and imaging specia1ist at University of Ca1ifomia, Irvine, who was principal investigator of the study. "It is part of the human condition."

The research was presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association scientific meeting here. A report is a1so schedu1ed to appear in Wednesday's issue of the Journa1 of the American Medical Association.

Heart disease is the wor1d 's 1eading killer, and it is increasing1y common in developing countries such as China, India and in Latin America. The growing prevalence of the disease is often attributed to urbanization, fast-food diets, smoking and sedentary 1ifesty1es characteristic of Western societies.

Evidence of disease was found in seven of eight mummies determined to be age 45 or older, and in two of eight believed to be under 45.

Where did it come from? Researchers don't know for sure. But they noted that the mummies had all been members of upper-class Egyptian society, and their diets included meat from cattle, ducks and geese. In addition, because there wasn't refrigeration，salt was commonly used to preserve meat and fish, raising the possibility that some of these Egyptians had high blood pressure. Whether anyone was obese couldn't be determined by the scans, but tobacco wasn't part of the pharaohs' lifestyle.

The researchers couldn 't be determined whether any among the group of Egyptians had actually died of cardiovascular disease.

四級閱讀原文翻譯：

木乃伊曾患心臟病

研究人員表示，他們在3500年前的古埃及木乃伊身上發現了動脈硬化的證據，駁斥了人們長期以來的一種觀點，即心血管疾病基本上是現代社會才有的。

一個由心臟成像希賽網和埃及古樹學者組成的團隊用CT設備對來自開羅埃及古物博物館的22具木乃伊進行了檢查，尋找指示肌體患有心血管疾病的鈣沉積現象。

他們在16具木乃伊身上辨別出了心臟或動脈，也有的兩者都得到了確認。其中9具存在心血管的鈣化現象。一份分析報告稱，這些鈣化是動脈硬化癥的明確或可能證據，動脈硬化會導致心臟病和中風。

負責此次調查的加州大學心臟病及成像技術希賽網格里高里·托馬斯說，不止我們現代人有動脈硬化癥，這種病早在3500年前就很常見了;它一直是人類健康狀況的組成部分。

本周二在美國心臟協會召開的會議上通報了此次調查。定于周三出版的美國醫學協會期刊上將刊登相關研究報告。

心臟病是人類的頭號殺手，而且它在中國、印度及拉丁美洲等發展中越來越常見。心臟病發病率攀升的現象往往被歸咎于城市化、快餐飲食、吸煙以及久坐不動等西式生活方式。

在8具死亡時年齡大于等于45歲的木乃伊身上，有7具發現了動脈硬化的跡象，剩下8具年齡不足45歲的木乃伊也有2具有此病征。

那么病因何在呢?研究人員目前尚不確定。但是他們指出，這些木乃伊生前都是埃及社會上層人士，他們的飲食包括牛肉、鴨肉和鵝肉。此外，由于沒有冰箱為食物保鮮，保存魚類和肉食的辦法往往是鹽漬，加大了這些埃及人罹患高血壓的可能性。通過CT掃描無法得知這些法老們中有誰生前肥胖，不過，在那個年代他們肯定是不抽煙的。

研究人員也無法確定這些法老當中是否有人真正死于心血管疾病。

四級閱讀句型講解：

1. A team of heart-imaging experts and Egyptologists examined 22 mummies from the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo in a CT scanning machine, looking for evidence of calcium buildup that could indicate vascular disease.

本句是一個復合句。本句主句是A team of heart-imaging experts and Egyptologists examined 22 mummies...,from the the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo介詞短語作后置定語，修飾mummies。in a CT scanning machine介詞短語作狀語。looking for...disease現在分詞短語作目的狀語。其中that引導限制性定語從句，修飾calcium buildup。

四級閱讀語法重點：介詞短語作定語，介詞短語作狀語，分詞短語作狀語

2. An analysis determined the deposits were either definite or probab1e evidence of atherosclerosis，the condition that leads to heart attacks and strokes.

本句是一個復合句。determined后面是省略了引導詞that的賓語從句，充當determined的賓語。其中either...or...連接兩個并列的結構。the condition是atherosclerosis的同位語，that引導定語從句，修飾 condition。

四級閱讀語法重點：賓語從句，并列結構，定語從句

3. In addition, because there wasn't refrigeration，salt was commonly used to preserve meat and fish, raising the possibility that some of these Egyptians had high blood pressure.

本句是一個復合句，主句是salt was commonly used to preserve meat and fish，其中to preserve meat and fish不定式短語作目的狀語。because引導原因狀語從句。raising the possibility...pressure現在分詞短語作結果狀語。其中that引導同位語從句，解釋說明possibility。

四級閱讀語法重點：不定時短語作狀語，原因狀語從句，分詞短語作狀語，同位語從句