RSSFeb|23|2011
No Danger From Blood Clots During Long Air Travel
Posted by Noemi as Air Travel, Health, Health & Wellness
I remember all the hullaballoo about deep vein thrombosis, blood clots forming in your legs when you sit still for very long periods of time. Sitting behind a desk every day, sitting at home, etc – all these are “activities” that may leave you prone to blood clots. Air travel, in particular, is one of the main sources of concern. Short flights, of course, do not pose much of a threat, but extended flights just might.
Or at least that’s what we thought. New developments tell us otherwise, though. According to a report published by Reuters, researchers have not found any concrete link between immobility in long flights and the formation of blood clots:
They report in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that 545 patients were diagnosed with venous blood clots within 45 days, and 1394 had at least one reason for immobility. Those included being bed-bound, travel of more than 8 continuous hours in the previous week, and paralysis due to brain injury or disease.
Compared with patients with no immobility, immobility of a limb was most strongly linked with a blood clot, closely followed by paralysis due to brain injury or disease.
Although travel was the most frequently observed reason for immobility, there was no evidence that it was linked to blood clots.
That is excellent news, don’t you think? Even if you have not really been worried about blood clots, knowing that you do not increase your risk for this when traveling should make your trips all the more stress free!
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One Response
Trina
12|Mar|2011i’m not sure it’s a good idea to point to one study and say “we’re all done w air travel as a risk factor for DVT. there are plenty of other studies and patient testimonials that would argue otherwise.
air travel poses no additional risk for DVT? tell that to serena williams’ doctors. her recent DVT and the resulting pulmonary embolism have been blamed by her doctors on immobility resulting from her leg injury and recent long flights. i am now recovering from a DVT/PE myself and i can assure you that the prevailing thinking among doctors and the studies they produce is that air travel is syill a potential risk factor.
any kind of immobility, and air travel is one of them, increases the risk for DVT. that’s the bottom line. so keep getting up and walking around on the plane every hour or so. the life you save may be your own.
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