Cardiovascular deconditioning during weightlessness simulation and the use of lower body negative pressure as a countermeasure to orthostatic intolerance

The cardiovascular function is one of the main disturbed by weightlessness: it is particularly affected by the astronaut's return to Earth, where symptoms linked to the cardiovascular deconditioning syndrom appear in the following forms: (1) orthostatic intolerance with its risk of syncope: (2) higher submaximal oxygen consumption for an equivalent work load. Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) is intended to stimulate the venous system of the lower limbs; however, the specific effects of periodical LBNP sessions on the orthostatic intolerance have never been studied. With this objective in mind, 5 volunteers took part in two recent antiorthostatic bedrest experiments for 30 days. In the first experiment 3 subjects were submitted to several sessions of LBNP experiment per day and 2 others were controls; in the second experiment the LBNP group of the 1st one became controls and vice-versa. Two orthostatic investigations were performed: (1) 5 days before the bedrest; (2) at the end of the 30 day bedrest period. The results showed: (1) when the subjects were control, a high orthostatic intolerance post bedrest with 3 syncopes and one presyncopal state during the first minutes of the tilt test; (2) when the subjects were submitted to LBNP sessions, no orthostatic intolerance.