Weakened Hearts Could Stand In The Way Of Extended Space Missions
A new study exposes potentially serious health risks.
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Subscribe for free to get more stories like this directly to your inboxWith private space companies launching an increased number of flights these days, it’s not only trained astronauts who are getting away from our home planet these days.
As various businesses and governments set their sights on missions to Mars and beyond, this modern space race also brings up some nagging concerns about what it might mean for the health of the humans involved.
Sending hearts into space
Four dozen samples of human heart tissue were sent to the International Space Station to gauge the impact of reduced gravity. Many of the samples came back weaker and showing signs of irregular rhythm as compared to corresponding samples that remained on Earth.
The undeniable result, according to the authors of the study, is that heart tissues “really don’t fare well in space,” which means there’s some serious work to do before extended space trips become commonplace.
The result of serious preparation
Creating tissue samples that mimic the impact of space flight on human hearts was no simple feat. A team of experts at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine were able to engineer such tissues, giving scientists more information on the topic than ever before.
“An incredible amount of cutting-edge technology in the areas of stem cell and tissue engineering, biosensors and bioelectronics, and microfabrication went into ensuring the viability of these tissues in space,” said professor Deok-Ho Kim.
Among the notable ways space travel appears to impact the human heart are:
- Weaker heart muscles
- Irregular heartbeat
- Protein changes associated with heart disease
- Inefficient mitochondria
- Inflammation and other damage
Johns Hopkins postdoctoral fellow Devin Mair interpreted the evidence as additional proof of the cellular impact caused by space travel.
“Many of these markers of oxidative damage and inflammation are consistently demonstrated in post-flight checks of astronauts,” he said.
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