Who wears the monitors?

Every shuttle mission specialist aboard the shuttle will need to wear a heart monitor belt on his or her torso and a watch on his or her wrist while flying a simulation on the Maverick.

What is a heart rate monitor? A heart rate monitor consists of the monitor belt and the heart-rate display watch. The elastic band of the monitor slips into the open ends of the hard plastic sections. The hard section of the belt contains an electronic system that monitors your heart rate and sends the information to be displayed on the watch. The heart-rate monitor watch receives the transmission and displays the current pulse rate.

Where are the monitors worn? The hard plastic section of the belt should be worn on the chest over the heart area. The transmission of the heart rate works best when students dampen the back of the monitor on the reverse side of the word "Polar." The watch is worn on the wrist and must stay in contact with the skin.

When will the digital displays on the heart rate monitors change? After each watch is set, the resting heart rate will be displayed as the wearer sits at the computer. After the wearer exercises actively for one minute, the monitor will display an accelerated heart rate, the active heart rate.

Why are the heart-rate monitors worn?

The heart-rate monitors are worn to provide the medical specialist with data on recovery time of the heart after exercising. The amount of time the heart takes to slow back down to the resting heart rate after exercising at an active rate is the recovery time. These three measurements; the resting heart rate, the active heart rate, and the recovery time will be recorded in the medical data logs to study micro-gravity effects on the heart. Use the following link to check out the tutorial about Exercise and Stress.

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