Category: Clots
Thromboembolism (injurious blood clots) claims more victims than cancer and is mostly preventable. This is an unparalleled public health opportunity. The American Public Health Association and CDC launched a DVT Leadership Coalition in February. The main objective is to raise awareness among health care workers and the public about how to avoid thromboembolism. One of the easiest ways to raise awareness and reduce the numbers of DVT victims is to tell people how to avoid air travel thrombosis.
In the following pages we discuss:
– Clot formation
– Symptoms
– Misdiagnosis
– Arterial Clots
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Postthrombotic Syndrome, PTS
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Studies show forty to eighty percent of DVT victims eventually develop PTS, with chronic swelling and pain, sometimes with open sores that can cover the lower leg. If you spent weeks with swelling and pain before your DVT was treated, you probably had permanent damage to the veins that will…
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Arterial Clots
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A ’92 study by Teenan (see bibliography) said that air travel doesn’t just produce DVT. It also causes peripheral arterial thrombosis, most commonly resulting in myocardial ischaemia, heart failure. Dr. Omer Iqbal presented a paper on this at the International Angiology Union World Congress in March 2002. More than half…
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Misdiagnosis
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DVT is usually mistaken for a cramp, even when the victim is a physician. Those who seek treatment are usually misdiagnosed at first, increasing the risk of permanent vein damage and increasing the risk of death. Here are two simple ways to avoid misdiagnosis. 1. If you have leg symptoms…
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Symptoms
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Dr. Stanley Mohler, Director of Aerospace Medicine at Wright State Medical School, calls this the Stealth Disease because symptoms usually don’t show up until several days or more after the flight. If you feel any of the symptoms listed below, see a doctor. You will probably forget exactly what symptoms…
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Clot Formation
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Coagulability rises steadily during air travel. Blood flow slows down, especially in the lower legs, and blood viscosity rises in the lower legs, increasing the likelihood of clotting. Clots form, usually painlessly, but some cause pain and swelling. The longer the flight, the greater the risk, although many of the…