Too long in space can make the heart shrink, is it dangerous?

JAKARTA – Too long in space has in common with extreme swimming endurance, both of which can lead to heart shrinks . This conclusion comes from a study comparing the effects of astronaut Scott Kelly being in space for 340 days with swimmer Benoit Lecomte who swam across the Atlantic for 159 days.

Both remove the load on the heart normally applied by gravity, causing organ atrophy. The training they have been doing so far is not enough to fight the deformation of the heart. (Read: Irregular Heartbeats Could Be Symptoms of Covid-19)

The research was led by Dr. Benjamin Levine, professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and is published in the journal Circulation.

The research has implications for very long trips in space – such as the expedition to Mars that NASA plans to undertake in the coming decades.

“One of the things we’ve learned over the years of research, is that heart very elastic. So the heart adapts to the load that is placed on it, “said Professor Levine, who is also director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, a collaboration between UT Southwestern and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, told BBC News .

“In space flight, one of the things that happens, is you no longer have to pump blood upward, because you are not pumping against gravity,” he explained. (Also read: 10 biggest gold producing countries in the world, Indonesia is not counted)

Scott Kelly spent 340 days on the International Space Station (ISS) to enable scientists to study the long-term effects of aviation on the human body.

On June 5, 2018, Benoit Lecomte began swimming in the Pacific Ocean, having previously crossed the Atlantic. He swam 2,821 km for 159 days.

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