ASA and The Cleveland Clinic will study ways to monitor the effects of long-term space flight on the human heart and develop conditioning regimens to counteract those effects in preparation for the International Space Station.

NASA recently announced a two-year, $4 million cooperative agreement to support the research and development of a digital echocardiography lab at The Cleveland Clinic.

"We know that astronauts who spend longer periods of time in space experience cardiovascular 'de-conditioning.' They return to Earth weakened and with low blood pressure, less blood volume, and a loss of tone to their blood vessels," said Dr. James D. Thomas, director of Cardiovascular Imaging at The Cleveland Clinic. "However, we don't know why this happens and if the heart itself is weakened."

The joint expertise of The Cleveland Clinic and Johnson Space Center will support human space endeavors, improve the quality of life on Earth through the enhancement of the growing field of telemedicine and add to heart function knowledge.

Digital echocardiographic equipment will be on the Space Station when it is operational. Echocardiography is more practical for life in space because it requires less power, is non-invasive, is small and versatile and is not magnetic or radioactive.

For more information, contact Rob Whitehouse at The Cleveland Clinic.
Call 216/444-8927.

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