Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), principally coronary artery disease and stroke, are the leading cause of death throughout the globe. Atherosclerosis (hardening and narrowing) of the coronary arteries results in blockages that cause myocardial infarction (i.e. necrosis of heart muscle). The majority of strokes are also caused by obstructive atherosclerosis in the arteries leading to and within the brain. Atherosclerosis is considered by many to be a modern-day disease secondary to contemporary lifestyles. However, in recent years it has been confirmed as a much older disease with a longer evolutionary history. This conclusion has been reached by the discovery of evidence found in naturally mummified individuals living 3000 years ago in what is now modern-day Sudan. This evidence demonstrates vascular calcifications which, based on morphology, anatomic location and scanning electron microscopy, are atherosclerotic in origin. Confirmatory computed tomography (CT) scans by the HORUS team and other research groups of the mummified remains of people from Egypt, Peru, North America, Europe and Asia dating back over 5000 years also demonstrate arterial calcification. These CT findings have the same radiographic characteristics and appear in the same anatomic locations as modern-day patients with atherosclerosis, which is the underlying cause of myocardial infarction and most deaths from cardiac disease. These findings of vascular calcification in mummified individuals from cultures across the globe not only demonstrate that atherosclerosis cannot solely be attributed to modern-day lifestyles, but also raise questions as to the evolutionary and cultural factors that may have predisposed humans to atherosclerosis.