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Saturday, September 23, 2006Piper, fifth of the six astronauts to speak, appeared to be confused before her legs buckled during her address. NASA officials and crew members braced her and lowered her to the ground. She stood up again, and the crowd applauded. "Boy, if that's not a little embarrassing," she said. After speaking for another half-minute or so, she again appeared confused and gripped the podium. Crew members stepped to her side and lowered her to the floor. Two NASA officials helped her leave through a side door. Most likely, the problem was orthostatic hypotension: ....orthostatic hypotension, a fall in blood pressure and the associated dizziness, syncope, and blurred vision that can occur when one stands up or simply stands motionless in one position. In the context of space travel, a major cause of orthostatic hypotension is the persistent lowering of peripheral vascular resistance during space travel, and more than two-thirds of all astronauts experience orthostatic hypotension when they reenter Earth’s gravity.. It may be "uncomfortable, annoying, or both", but not life threatening. It takes several days for the body to reset itself so the blood doesn't go rushing to the feet when the astronauts stand up. ADDENDUM: While we're on the topic of space - here are sounds and music from space posted by Sydney on 9/23/2006 08:33:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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