Apples for Health- Blood clot risk linked to long-haul flight

Blood clot risk linked to long-haul flight

NICE, France, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Even healthy people may develop thrombotic problems -- blood clots -- on a flight of four hours or more, the European Society of Cardiology said.

"Long distance flying is associated with an increase in deep venous thrombosis, which in some cases may lead to clotting of the lungs," Dr. Steen Kristensen, vice-president of the ESC, said in a statement.

"People who are immobile, pregnant, taking contraceptive pills or have had venous thrombosis in the past are particularly at risk. To minimize the risk it is important to drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluid and to walk (exercise) before and during the flight. The use of compression stockings is for some travelers an important way of preventing deep venous thrombosis."

A review by medical journal The Lancet suggests that the risk of venous thromboembolism increases when flight duration exceeds four hours. This raised risk is related to immobility, dehydration and reduced oxygen in the cabin, as well as to individual risk factors such as obesity, recent surgery and predispositions to thrombosis, the review said.

People prone to thromboembolic risk are those with a history of venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, as well as those with a history of of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and physical immobilization, Kurt Huber, ESC spokesperson on Thrombosis said.

Healthy people who may develop thrombotic problems on a long-distance flight are pregnant women, women taking oral contraceptives and the elderly, Huber said.