Source: United Press International
“As humans begin to colonize space, it’s inevitable that some will suffer a cardiac arrest. Space CPR conducted in weightlessness will be crucial to save their lives — and researchers say they’ve now come up with a better method. Automatic chest compression carried out by a mechanical piston is expected to be more effective than emergency protocols now in place for the International Space Station, researchers reported Wednesday at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Madrid. Astronauts now are taught a ‘handstand’ method of CPR, in which they brace their legs against a wall and perform a handstand on the patient’s chest, researchers said. In weightlessness, this has been the only viable option for creating the pressure needed for chest compressions. But tests aboard a ‘flying laboratory’ that re-creates weightlessness showed that this method likely doesn’t press deep enough to create life-sustaining blood flow, researchers said.” (08/28/25)