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Mechanical piston CPR could keep astronauts stayin' alive


CPR is a technique that has saved countless lives since the modern version was developed in the 1960s. However, it turns out it doesn't work very well in zero gravity, so a team of European cardiologists has been testing alternatives for astronauts.

To evaluate alternatives, cardiologists teamed up with the French space agency, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), to conduct tests aboard an Airbus A310 aircraft modified to fly in parabolic arcs to simulate weightlessness for brief periods. "Use of a particular type of automatic chest compression device was the only method that gave the depth that is recommended by international resuscitation guidelines to keep blood flowing to the brain in a real life cardiac arrest. Since astronauts are chosen for physical health, the chances of a heart attack case are pretty low, but as the cost of space travel continues to drop radically, more members of the general public will certainly be heading for orbit in the near future.

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