The toxins that have built up cause damage to the kidneys - speed of return of the toxins into the torso so far has proven irrelevant.

For a body held vertically (harness, confined space etc) this return to horizontal does not happen - end result, death.Ĭurrent conscensus on treatment of suspected orthostatic intolerance (suspension trauma or whatever you want to call it) is to remove the suspension, and put casualty in safe airway position (ie flat). The body senses the lack of oxygen in the brain and turns off the lights - body assumes horizontal position, normal bloodflow resumes. To draw a parallel - the mechanism is the same reason people standing still (weddings/soldiers on parade) faint. In tests the French managed to recreate this first in harnesses (loss of consciousness after as little as 3 minutes) and then using tilt tables (similar results). The harness is irrelevant - it is a body motionless in an upright position that is the problem - gravity takes blood down into the legs, but if the leg muscles are not being used it cannot get back up to the heart/brain (the heart is a good pump, not a good 'sucker') - venous return is usually assisted by the muscles in the legs 'squeezing' the blood back up towards the torso. All the fuss is about research that started to be done in the 70s (French Speleo Federation and round about the same time in Austria) following some unexplainable deaths.

Pling in harness gag