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Body systemCardiovascular
18 articles tagged · 2 topic · 9 clinical · 2 equipment · 5 research
Orthostatic Intolerance on Landing
Difficulty maintaining blood pressure when upright after return to gravity, causing lightheadedness or presyncope.
Gravity FieldsCardiovascular
SMF-T-0002 · draftSpace Radiation Environment & Biological Effects
Beyond low Earth orbit, crews are exposed to galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events that are difficult to shield and raise long-term health concerns.
RadiationOncologyNeurological & Cognitive
Clinical articles (9)
SFP screening
How to approach a patient who wants to fly as a paying passenger: what the FAA does and does not require, what published guidance recommends, and which conditions deserve a closer look.
◆◆◇◇ Low · E A F
SMF-C-0014 · protocol · draftDCS & EVA
Why spacewalks carry decompression risk, how prebreathe protocols prevent it, how DCS is recognized and treated without a hyperbaric chamber, and other EVA hazards (CO2, water in the helmet, hand injuries) — with links to dive and altitude medicine.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · E A F
SMF-C-0006 · countermeasure · draftExercise countermeasures
What spaceflight does to aerobic capacity and muscle, NASA's fitness standards in plain numbers, how in-flight exercise works, and how to prescribe reconditioning after return.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0010 · topic · draftEmergencies & evacuation
What medical care is actually available on a spacecraft, who provides it, how evacuation works from orbit, and why the model changes completely for lunar and Mars missions.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E C
SMF-C-0008 · protocol · draftOrthostatic intolerance on landing
Why returning space travelers get lightheaded or faint when they stand, how agencies prevent it (fluid/salt loading, compression garments, recumbent seating), and how to assess and treat it in the ED or clinic.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F A E
SMF-C-0011 · topic · draftPOCUS in space
How ultrasound became the main imaging tool in space — remote-guided FAST, echo, eye and kidney scans, and routine screening of the jugular veins for thrombosis — and what that means for clinicians on the ground.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
SMF-C-0015 · guide · draftPostflight recovery & surveillance
A timeline of what to expect after landing — day 0 to day 45 and beyond — what NASA measures and when, which problems can persist for months or years, and how lifelong occupational surveillance works.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
SMF-C-0000 · guide · draftClinician quick-start
A one-page orientation for GPs, emergency physicians, nurses and flight/aviation doctors: what to ask, what to check, the red flags, and where to find the details — before and after spaceflight.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · E F
SMF-C-0003 · countermeasure · draftRadiation limits & monitoring
NASA's radiation limits in plain clinical terms, how crew dose is monitored, what shielding can and cannot do, and what it means for a patient's lifetime cancer screening.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · E C F M
Equipment guides (2)
Mission Medical Kits
What medical equipment, drugs and supplies are carried on suborbital flights, short commercial orbital flights, a low Earth orbit station, lunar and Gateway missions, and Mars-class missions, and how distance, duration, drug shelf life and the loss of evacuation change the kit.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F C E
SMF-E-0001 · guide · draftPre-Flight & Post-Flight Clinic
A plain-language design guide for a clinic that certifies people before flight and evaluates them after landing: equipment by evaluation domain, what to do in-house versus refer out, a room-by-room layout and an essential / recommended / advanced build.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
Research pages (5)
Cardiovascular adaptations
Weightlessness shifts fluids toward the head and deconditions the heart and vessels, causing light-headedness on landing. Whether space radiation adds long-term heart disease risk is unresolved.
◆◆◇◇ Low · F A M E
STU-01 · landmark study · draftNASA Twins Study
One identical twin spent a year on the ISS while his brother stayed on Earth as a genetic control. Most changes reversed within six months, but some did not.
◆◆◇◇ Low · F
RSK-12 · NASA risk · draftMuscle & aerobic fitness
Even with about 10 hours of exercise a week, astronauts lose fitness in flight, and some don't meet NASA's standards. Exploration spacecraft will have less room for exercise equipment.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F E
STU-03 · landmark study · draftISS long-duration cohorts
Most of what clinicians know about 6-month spaceflight comes from cohorts of 4 to 46 ISS astronauts. Key studies, what they found, and their limits.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · F
STU-04 · landmark study · draftBed-rest studies
Lying in bed tilted 6° head-down for weeks reproduces many effects of weightlessness. It is the workhorse for testing countermeasures, with important blind spots.
◆◆◆◇ Moderate · A