The Mummy of Hatiay undergoes an MRI scan. A macabre study of mummified corpses shows that heart attacks and strokes may have plagued the ancient world as well as the modern one. Scientists studied 137 mummies from Egypt and other locations around the world dating back 4,000 years. More than a third showed signs of likely or definite hardening and narrowing of the arteries. The condition, known as atherosclerosis, is the primary cause of heart attacks and strokes caused by lack of blood to the brain. Until now it had been widely assumed that today's high rates of heart and artery disease were chiefly the result of unhealthy modern lifestyles.Picture: The Lancet/PA

Credit : The Lancet/PA