title: Why did ancient people have atherosclerosis?: from autopsies to computed tomography to potential causes.
abstract: Computed tomographic findings of atherosclerosis in the ancient cultures of Egypt, Peru, the American Southwest and the Aleutian Islands challenge our understanding of the fundamental causes of atherosclerosis. Could these findings be true? Is so, what traditional risk factors might be present in these cultures that could explain this apparent paradox? The recent computed tomographic findings are consistent with multiple autopsy studies dating as far back as 1852 that demonstrate calcific atherosclerosis in ancient Egyptians and Peruvians. A nontraditional cause of atherosclerosis that could explain this burden of atherosclerosis is the microbial and parasitic inflammatory burden likely to be present in ancient cultures inherently lacking modern hygiene and antimicrobials. Patients with chronic systemic inflammatory diseases of today, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and human immunodeficiency virus infection, experience premature atherosclerosis and coronary events. Might the chronic inflammatory load of ancient times secondary to infection have resulted in atherosclerosis? Smoke inhalation from the use of open fires for daily cooking and illumination represents another potential cause. Undiscovered risk factors could also have been present, potential causes that technologically cannot currently be measured in our serum or other tissue. A synthesis of these findings suggests that a gene-environmental interplay is causal for atherosclerosis. That is, humans have an inherent genetic susceptibility to atherosclerosis, whereas the speed and severity of its development are secondary to known and potentially unknown environmental factors.
authors: MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Long Beach Memorial, Long Beach, CA, USA; University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. Electronic address: gthomas1@memorialcare.org.
authors: Gregory S
authors: GS
authors: Thomas
authors: Cardiovascular Physicians, Columbia St. Mary's Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors: L Samuel
authors: LS
authors: Wann
authors: Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Adel H
authors: AH
authors: Allam
authors: Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors: Randall C
authors: RC
authors: Thompson
authors: Miller Children's Hospital of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors: David E
authors: DE
authors: Michalik
authors: Newport Diagnostic Center, Newport Beach, CA, USA.
authors: M Linda
authors: ML
authors: Sutherland
authors: Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Laguna Hills, CA, USA.
authors: James D
authors: JD
authors: Sutherland
authors: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors: Guido P
authors: GP
authors: Lombardi
authors: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors: Lucia
authors: L
authors: Watson
authors: Department of Archeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors: Samantha L
authors: SL
authors: Cox
authors: Museo de Sitio Puruchuco-Arturo Jimenez Borja, Lima, Peru.
authors: Clide M
authors: CM
authors: Valladolid
authors: Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
authors: Gomaa
authors: G
authors: Abd El-Maksoud
authors: Biological Anthropology Department, Medical Research Division, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Muhammad
authors: M
authors: Al-Tohamy Soliman
authors: High Institute for Tourism and Hotel and Conservation of Archeology, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors: Ibrahem
authors: I
authors: Badr
authors: University for Science and Technology, 6th of October City, Egypt.
authors: Abd
authors: A
authors: el-Halim Nur el-Din
authors: University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors: Emily M
authors: EM
authors: Clarke
authors: Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, USA.
authors: Ian G
authors: IG
authors: Thomas
authors: Mission Heritage Medical Group, St. Joseph Heritage Health, Mission Viejo, CA, USA.
authors: Michael I
authors: MI
authors: Miyamoto
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors: Hillard S
authors: HS
authors: Kaplan
authors: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Frohlich
authors: Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Jagat
authors: J
authors: Narula
authors: John and Jennifer Ruddy Canadian Cardiovascular Genetics Centre, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Alexandre F R
authors: AF
authors: Stewart
authors: Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC), Bolzano/Bozen, Italy.
authors: Albert
authors: A
authors: Zink
authors: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors: Caleb E
authors: CE
authors: Finch
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history*; D001344:Autopsy; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications; D009106:Mummies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed