Traveling Increases Blood Clot Risk by 200 Percent

According to a new scientific study, it appears that traveling more than doubles the risk of passengers developing blood clots, on account of the inactivity in their limbs. The legs are the worst affected, especially in the case of long flights, where people stay crammed in their seats for ten to 12 hours, or even more. Additionally, the new report shows, for every two extra hours spent driving or flying, the risk increases considerably, Reuters informs. The study was published on Monday.

The experts mentioned that giving airline passengers anti-clotting drugs was not yet necessary, as the problem was not that severe, especially for those who were in a good, general shape. But, for those already at risk of developing such conditions, even without traveling, it may be that they should consider taking such drugs before embarking on long trips, either by car, or by airplane. In any instance, the scientists added, people who knew they were predisposed to this type of affection should, at least every couple of hours, get out of their seats and walk around for a few minutes, to get the blood pumping back in the limbs, and to prevent clots from forming.

Venous thromboembolism – the development of blood clots in veins, especially in the legs – was the main focus of the new study, conducted by a team of researchers at the Harvard University in Boston, and led by expert Dr. Divay Chandra and colleagues. The experts explained that clots were extremely dangerous, not only because they could trigger strokes and heart attacks, but also because they were not necessarily fixed to the position they were formed in. In other words, while traveling, a clot could go to the lungs, and kill a passenger very fast, without any chance of getting them to a hospital in time.

“Our findings demonstrate for the first time a clear association between travel and VTE. The findings of this report suggest that, at least among generally healthy individuals, even a three-fold increase in relative risk is unlikely to produce a sufficiently high absolute risk to justify higher-risk interventions, such as oral anticoagulation during travel. Worldwide, 2.5 billion passengers will travel by air alone in 2010, which underscores the large global population at risk for this serious condition,” the authors wrote in their report, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.