[Atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease. Short historical notes].

A review of some historical accounts in Medicine reveals concepts, clinical descriptions and prognosis of coronary atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease in the recent past and in remote antiquity. Herein, the historical accounts disclosed include some concepts and terms utilized in reference to atherosclerosis: the oldest documentation of coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction in Egyptian mummies; the clinical syndrome of angor pectoris in the Ebers' papyrus, as well as clinical and prognostic data in the Corpus Hippocraticum regarding possible cases of angina, infarction and sudden death. These reports give a better insight into primitive medicine in the Ancient Western World, revealing the evolving concept of atherosclerosis and the existence of this disease in humanity's remote past.