NASA: Astronaut treats blood clot on board I.S.S.

North Carolina — Houston really had a problem when an undisclosed Astronaut discovered a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) — or blood clot — in the jugular vein of their neck.

Neither the name of the Astronaut, nor the time it happened has been disclosed to ensure privacy, but Space.com is reporting that he or she was two months into a six month mission at the time.

Without an established plan for this type of emergency in "zero gravity", NASA reached out to a blood clot expert who developed a plan to guide the Astronaut’s treatment.

Professor Stephan Moll, M.D., from the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine at Chapel Hill was the only non-NASA physician NASA consulted to help come up with a treatment plan for the clot, UNC officials said in a statement.

Blood thinners and ultra-sound equipment were sent to the International Space Station via a supply mission and the Astronaut was able to monitor and eventually reverse the clot entirely.

The treatment process lasted more than 90 days and stopped four days before the Astronaut returned to Earth.

Once the Astronaut landed, doctors confirmed the blood clot was gone and no further treatment was required.

Dr. Moll is continuing to work with NASA to determine if blood clots are more common in space and if so how how will they behave.

“How do you minimize risk for DVT? Should there be more medications for it kept on the ISS? All of these questions need answering, especially with the plan that astronauts will embark on longer missions to the moon and Mars.” Dr. Moll questioned.

UNC released a video of the doctor discussing the issue, App users click here to watch.