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Airplane Flights & Blood Clots

Blood clots in veins or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is when a clot is formed in a vein, typically in the leg or thigh, as a result of prolonged sitting and inactivity. This potentially life-threatening condition has been linked to airline flying particularly for flights lasting longer than four hours.

  1. DVT Information

    • Normal activity allows the leg muscles to contract and move the blood from the legs to the heart. With prolonged inactivity, such as flying, blood can pool and form a clot in the deep veins. This can result in a life-threatening condition such as a pulmonary embolism, which sends the clot to the lung.

    Symptoms

    • Often an affected person may not immediately recognize the symptoms, which can include increased warmth in the leg, swelling of the leg, tenderness in the calf, pain in the leg, redness to the area and bluish skin discoloration.

    Flight Length Factor

    • Flying and DVT have been linked for many years. According to one New York Times article, passengers who fly on flights of four hours or more have three time the risk of developing clots compared to not traveling at all. This assumes that the passengers are sitting still rather than walking every few hours.

    Dehydration Factor

    • Passengers are subjected to very dry recirculated air while flying, and this leaves them dehydrated. This also causes the blood to thicken, which increases the chance of a blood clot forming.

    Additional Risk Information

    • The NYT article sites a World Health Organization report that states one out of every 4,500 airline passengers will develop a clot within eight weeks after the flight. The report also says that a person's risk would increase based on how long the flight was. Additional risk factors include taking hormone replacement therapy, oral contraception use, being obese and if they have inherited blood clotting disorders.

    Prevention

    • To decrease your chance of developing DVT it is advised to stretch and walk as often as possible on long flights. Additionally, passengers should drink plenty water or other non-alchohoic drinks to remain hydrated. Compression stockings that help prevent blood clotting can also be worn.

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