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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.

木乃伊曾患心脏病

研究人员表示，他们在3500年前的古埃及木乃伊身上发现了动脉硬化的证据，驳斥了人们长期以来的一种观点，即心血管疾病基本上是现代社会才有的。

一个由心脏成像专家和埃及古树学者组成的团队用CT设备对来自开罗埃及古物国家博物馆的22具木乃伊进行了检查，寻找指示肌体患有心血管疾病的钙沉积现象。

他们在16具木乃伊身上辨别出了心脏或动脉，也有的两者都得到了确认。其中9具存在心血管的钙化现象。一份分析报告称，这些钙化是动脉硬化症的明确或可能证据，动脉硬化会导致心脏病和中风。

负责此次调查的加州大学心脏病及成像技术专家格里高里·托马斯说，不止我们现代人有动脉硬化症，这种病早在3500年前就很常见了;它一直是人类健康状况的组成部分。

本周二在美国心脏协会召开的会议上通报了此次调查。定于周三出版的美国医学协会期刊上将刊登相关研究报告。

心脏病是人类的头号杀手，而且它在中国、印度及拉丁美洲等发展中国家越来越常见。心脏病发病率攀升的现象往往被归咎于城市化、快餐饮食、吸烟以及久坐不动等西式生活方式。

在8具死亡时年龄大于等于45岁的木乃伊身上，有7具发现了动脉硬化的迹象，剩下8具年龄不足45岁的木乃伊也有2具有此病征。

那么病因何在呢?研究人员目前尚不确定。但是他们指出，这些木乃伊生前都是埃及社会上层人士，他们的饮食包括牛肉、鸭肉和鹅肉。此外，由于没有冰箱为食物保鲜，保存鱼类和肉食的办法往往是盐渍，加大了这些埃及人罹患高血压的可能性。通过CT扫描无法得知这些法老们中有谁生前肥胖，不过，在那个年代他们肯定是不抽烟的。

研究人员也无法确定这些法老当中是否有人真正死于心血管疾病。

句型讲解：

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.

本句是一个复合句。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介词短语作后置定语，修饰mummies。in a CT scanning machine介词短语作状语。looking for...disease现在分词短语作目的状语。其中that引导限制性定语从句，修饰calcium buildup。

语法重点：介词短语作定语，介词短语作状语，分词短语作状语

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

本句是一个复合句。determined后面是省略了引导词that的宾语从句，充当determined的宾语。其中either...or...连接两个并列的结构。the condition是atherosclerosis的同位语，that引导定语从句，修饰 condition。

语法重点：宾语从句，并列结构，定语从句

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.

本句是一个复合句，主句是salt was commonly used to preserve meat and fish，其中to preserve meat and fish不定式短语作目的状语。because引导原因状语从句。raising the possibility...pressure现在分词短语作结果状语。其中that引导同位语从句，解释说明possibility。

语法重点：不定时短语作状语，原因状语从句，分词短语作状语，同位语从句

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