Airhealth.org

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During air travel blood coagulability rises steadily and blood flow slows down, especially in the lower legs. About 3-5% of air travelers develop clots, usually painlessly, but some clots cause pain and swelling. If a clot travels to the lung it can cause pain, fainting and death. A clot in the leg is called deep vein thrombosis, DVT. A clot in the lung is pulmonary embolism, PE. Clots also form in the arterial system and in the heart, leading to heart failure and stroke.

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Doctor’s opinion

Dr. Stanley Mohler, Director of Aerospace Medicine at Wright State Medical School, calls this the Stealth Disease because often there are no symptoms until several days after the flight and the victim has no idea what is wrong. 

DVT is usually mistaken for a cramp, even when the victim is a physician. Correct diagnosis and treatment is usually delayed, aggravating the injury and increasing the risk of permanent vein damage and further injury or death when a clot travels to the lungs, brain, or heart.

The injury can be avoided
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Airplane

US airlines are giving misleading information about this

Delta Airlines website says “These clots are not serious.” Michael Wascom, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, told the NY Times “We have done more than enough to inform the traveling public about this.”

American Airlines’ American Way magazine has a very good page on DVT including symptoms to watch for. If you see anything similar on any other airline, or if American drops their page, please let us know via the Contact page.

If you get a clot

You’ll probably need help to recognize symptoms and avoid misdiagnosis. Print out our free wallet-size Leaflet.

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Latest Articles

  • Bibliography

    Bibliography

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    Anna

    Medical Journals  The best articles we have found are listed below. If you have time for only one, we recommend the one by Eklof et al. It presents its own results plus a table recapping the findings of other researchers. To find most of these articles or do research of…

  • Physicians: Preventive Measures

    Physicians: Preventive Measures

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    Anna

    The Aerospace Medical Association published a booklet for physicians in 1997 called Medical Guidelines for Air Travel, covering things a physician would need to know. The booklet can be ordered for $14.50 (plus $3.50 S&H;) from their website at www.asma.org Following is an excerpt used by permission from ASMA editor Pam Day:…

  • Incidence

    Incidence

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    Anna

    The Lancet (9/8) published an abstract of Airhealth.org’s analysis of 21 sources of data concluding that, of two million DVT cases and 200,000 PE deaths each year in the US, half are caused by air travel. (Full text below) Subsequent studies have also found large numbers of cases of air…

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