Clearly, space travel is not easy! We already knew that a prolonged stay in space could have consequences on the skeleton (with weakening of the bones), on the muscles (with muscle loss) or on vision and the risk of cancer.
Now, according to a NASA study published this Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the space environment could also have an impact on blood circulation …
To reach this conclusion, the NASA experts looked at medical data concerning 11 astronauts (9 men and 3 women) who spent an average of 6 months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Blood circulation is disrupted during space travel
Verdict? Examinations carried out using ultrasound have revealed a slowing of blood circulation in the internal jugular vein (which is located in the neck and whose role is to circulate part of the blood which circulates in the face and in the brain) around the 50th day of presence on board the ISS. In some astronauts, the blood flow even started … to turn in the other direction!
In question: the absence of gravity, according to the researchers who published their work in the specialized journal JAMA network open.
If the info may seem funny, in reality, the risk to the health of astronauts is significant: during his stay in the ISS, one of the astronauts studied thus developed a blood clot in the internal jugular vein. – and it could have led to a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism …
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