During the course of the Royal Canadian Air Force Electrocardiographic Program (1939-1986) a selected study of fit aircrew with right bundle branch block was studied. This review covers a period of 18 years during which a consecutive study of 139,651 men from 1960 to 1978 was carried out. Incomplete right bundle branch block of 0.10 s to 0.12 s occurred in 65 cases and complete right bundle branch block in 103 cases. The ages and follow-up periods are discussed. This study, in agreement with recent studies, indicates that right bundle branch block, both incomplete and complete, in itself does not indicate a dire prognosis, particularly when found in young men applying for aircrew training. The final conclusion is that right bundle branch block occurring in young applicants for aircrew training does not preclude their acceptance and this is now (since 1953) the policy of the Canadian armed forces.
[AVIATION MEDICINE: THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND FOCAL FUNDAMENTAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES (for the 80th anniversary of the Research Test Center of Aerospace Medicine and Military Ergonomics)].
The article discloses postulates of theoretical concepts that make the methodological basis for addressing the real-world aviation medicine challenges of humanizing aviator's environment, labor content and means, and health and performance maintenance. Under consideration are focal fundamental and practical issues arising with the technological progress in aviation and dealt with at the AF CRI Research Test Center of Aerospace Medicine and Military Ergonomics.
Cephalad redistribution of intravascular and extravascular fluid occurs as a result of weightlessness during spaceflight. This provokes cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, and autonomic nervous system responses. The resulting altered functional state can result in orthostatic hypotension and intolerance upon landing and return to a gravity environment. In-flight lower body negative pressure (LBNP) transiently restores normal body fluid distribution. Early in the U.S. space program, LBNP was devised as a way to test for orthostatic intolerance. With the development of the Skylab Program and longer duration spaceflight, it was realized that it could provide a method of monitoring orthostatic intolerance in flight and predicting the post-landing orthostatic response. LBNP was also investigated not only as an in-flight cardiovascular orthostatic stress test, but also as a countermeasure to cardiovascular deconditioning on Soviet space stations, Skylab, and the Shuttle. It is still being used by the Russian program on the International Space Station as an end-of-flight countermeasure.
This paper summarizes medical experience during the six NASA-Mir flights from March 14, 1995, to June 4, 1998. There were 7 U.S. astronauts who were part of 6 Mir space crews and worked jointly with 12 Russian cosmonauts. Advances in space medicine have created a safer environment; however, experience shows that crewmembers experience traumatic injuries and illnesses of diverse etiologies during spaceflight. During these joint flights both Russian and U.S. medical kits were available to crewmembers who could access either medical kit as appropriate. The Russian medical team had primary responsibility for monitoring and care of all crewmembers and analyzing medical results. When medical incidents occurred, the appropriate Russian or U.S. medical team determined the plan for diagnosis and treatment. Each team kept the other informed regarding medical situations during the flights and strictly observed the principles of medical confidentiality. A summary of medical incidents by programmatic element is described as experienced by the crewmembers and the ground support medical teams. The most frequent medical cases were small traumatic injuries to the skin and mucous membranes and fluctuations in the cardiovascular system, manifesting primarily in the form of cardiac dysrhythmias. The ability to use both the Russian medical aids and the U.S. medical kit significantly increased the effectiveness and reliability of therapeutic and prophylactic care. The degree of medical care and cooperation established precedents for integrating these systems for the medical support of expeditions on the International Space Station.
This paper describes the history of the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP): its birth and development. IMBP's directors were: Andrei V. Libedinsky (1963-1965), Vasily V. Parin (1965-1967), Oleg G. Gazenko (1968-1988), and Anatoly I. Grigoriev (1988 to the present). Most of the early employees of IMBP came from the USSR Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine and the USSR Ministry of Health Institute of Biophysics. The major goals of IMBP were: development of a system of medical monitoring and support of long-duration space missions, selection and training of civilian crew members, bioengineering testing of flight equipment, and development of life support system concepts and requirements. The paper presents major results of the above research activities.
