Abstract
Introduction: For millennia, humans have watched in awe the unending spectacle of
the night skies. As humankind dreams and aims to return to the moon and eventually
continue on to Mars, many unanswered questions come to mind regarding the
survivability of long duration spaceflight missions to remote destinations. It is,
therefore, crucial to consider the wide range of psychological and physiological effects
brought about by spaceflight.
Methods: This thesis focused on the cardiovascular diseases (CVD) related to human
spaceflight and divided the paper in two main parts: the effects of microgravity on the
cardiovascular system (CVS) and the effects of radiation on the CVS. This thesis
included the health risks related to spaceflight and incorporated the European Space
Agency’s (ESA) roadmaps related to human space exploration. An additional
experimental study was performed in an isolation and confinement space analog
simulation and investigated the effects on the CVS and heartrate recovery (HRR) after
a maximal exercise test.
Results: This thesis summarized all the CVD related to human spaceflight. Upon
entering microgravity, the cephalad fluid shift induces a number of adaptations in the
human body, such as an increase in cardiac output and stroke volume. The main
microgravity induced effects on the CVS are cardiac atrophy, cardiac arrythmias,
arterial stiffness and orthostatic intolerance. The main radiation induced effects on the
CVS are fibrotic myocardial remodeling, atherosclerosis and microvascular damage.
On a cellular level, spheroid formation in endothelial cells, increased intracellular
apoptosis and increased levels of inflammation and oxidative stress were observed
leading to microvascular damage and endothelial dysfunction which stimulates the
development of atherosclerosis. The one-week isolation and confinement space
analog demonstrated no effects of isolation on the HRR at one and five minutes after
a maximal exercise test (respectively P=0.1519 and P=0.7561).
Conclusion: Spaceflight is associated with several cardiovascular risk factors such
as, changes in normal exercise routine, increased psychological stressors and
elevated exposure to ionizing radiation, which might promote oxidative stress and
inflammation that can impair the normal function of endothelial cells and might
accelerate the development of CVD.
Details
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Master of Science |
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Awarding Institution | - KUL - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
- UGent - Universiteit Gent
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Supervisors/Advisors | |
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Award date | 11 Jun 2021 |
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Publisher | - KUL - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
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Publication status | Published - 10 Jun 2021 |
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