evaluating the functional state of crew members; the research goal is to identify prenosological
and premorbid conditions (ie, conditions preceding disease) rather than pathological
deviations. These data have practical importance for medical monitoring applications, and in
the future it would make sense to apply them in the ongoing work of the medical team at
mission control.
RESULTS
To date, the main focus of researchers has been on investigating peripheral blood flow as the
leading activation mechanism for the body’s reaction to orthostatic loading, and virtually no
attention has been paid in studies of heart function in microgravity. The investigations carried
out on the ISS using the Pnevmocard system were fundamentally a first in space medicine in
which comprehensive material was obtained on hemodynamics, heart contractile function, and
its regulation. The results of the Pnevmocard experiment showed that crew members tolerated
flight well, fairly fully adapted to long-term microgravity, and their reactions to various flight
stages is entirely adequate. This points to the high functional reserves of regulation systems
during flight. In the postflight period according to data from orthostatic testing, the body’s
functional reserves were also maintained at a sufficiently high level.
PUBLICATION(S)
Pneumocard
Baevsky RM, Chernikova AG, Funtova II, Tank J. Assessment of individual adaptation to
microgravity during long term spaceflight based on stepwise discriminant analysis of heart rate
variability parameters. Acta Astronautica. 2011;69:1148-1152. doi:
10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.07.011.
Baevsky RM, Bersenev YY, Luchitskaya ES, Funtova II, Chernikova AG. Studies of the vegetative
regulation of the cardiovascular system in long-term weightlessness. Space Forum 2011
Dedicated on 50th Anniversary for Yu. A. Gagarin Flight, Moscow, Russia; October 2011.
Eshmanova AK, Luchitskaya ES. Study of cardiac rhythm variability during 7-day exposure to
“dry” immersion. 5th All-Russian Conference on Analyzing Heart Rate Variability, Izhevsk,
Russia; October 26-28, 2011.
Funtova II, Luchitskaya ES, Slepchenkova IN, Tank J, Baevsky RM. Comparative assessment of
the results of day and night studies of cardiac rhythm variability on board the International
Space Station. 5th All-Russian Conference on Analyzing Heart Rate Variability, Izhevsk, Russia;
October 26-28, 2011.
Funtova II, Baevsky RM, Luchitskaya ES, Slepchenkova IN, Drescher J, Tank J. Day- vs night time
heart rate variability changes in microgravity: Experiments “Pneumocard” and “Sonocard”.
62nd International Astronautical Congress, Cape Town, South Africa; 2011.