Cardiovascular protection in long-term spaceflight: current understanding and challenges

Abstract

<p indent=0mm>China’s space station Tiangong is expected to be completed and will operate in the low-Earth orbit in the near future. During the long-duration flight in space, microgravity is one of the major hazards that affect crew members’ long-term cardiovascular health and task performance. The profound effects of microgravity on cardiovascular adaptation during long-term spaceflight and the underlying mechanisms have not been fully understood, which hampers the development of effective cardiovascular protective countermeasures. Here, we review and discuss the current research advances concerning long-term microgravity-induced cardiovascular responses, adaptations and possible underlying mechanisms. We further highlight and discuss the perspectives and challenges in developing more efficient cardiovascular protective countermeasures for long-term spaceflight.