Boston, Apr 2: Scientists revealed that the largest chamber of the heart of astronomer Scott Kelly who has lived nearly a year from 2015-2016 in the International Space Station (ISS) has shrunk. Kelly’s heart mass shrank from 6.7 ounces to 4.9 ounces, a loss of about 27%. This has been published this week in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
People who live on the ISS do regular exercises to retain their physical fitness as they live in the absence of gravity. Gravity on the Earth helps the human heart to maintain both its size and functionality. A similar change was observed in the swimmer Benoît Lecomte after he completed a 159-day swim across the Pacific Ocean in 2018.
When gravity is replaced with weightlessness, the heart shrinks in response. Scientists said that it might be one of the adaptations of human heart as long-duration spaceflight and prolonged water immersion both have a similar impact on gravity.
