Air travelers should watch for blood clots

If your next trip involves a long flight, you should be aware of a medical condition dubbed "economy class syndrome."

This condition may better be referred to as flight-related deep-vein thrombosis—and it may affect certain flight passengers regardless of where they sit on a plane.

Deep-vein thrombosis refers to the formation of a blood clot within a deep vein, commonly located in the thigh or calf. One of the risk factors for deep-vein thrombosis is sitting or lying immobile for long periods of time, which may occur when travelers are on long airplane flights.

If the blood clot breaks free and travels through the veins, it may reach the lungs and lead to a possibly deadly pulmonary embolism. It is estimated that 600,000 patients with deep-vein thrombosis develop pulmonary embolism each year, with this condition responsible for up to 200,000 deaths.

The blood clot commonly occurs in the deep vein of a leg. Symptoms may include tenderness, pain, swelling, and discoloration or redness; however, often this problem causes no symptoms.

"Deep-vein thrombosis is often a silent illness that can go unrecognized because of its minimal symptoms, but as medical professionals, we have to keep the possibility of blood clots on our radar screens," said Dr. Samuel Z. Goldhaber, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-chairman of the Council for Leadership on Thrombosis (CLOT) Awareness and Management, a group of 11 medical experts formed to raise awareness of this potentially life-threatening condition. "There are several emerging treatment strategies that allow us to reduce the risk and treat deep-vein thrombosis more easily, safely and effectively. But we have to recognize the problem."

In addition to prolonged immobility, some of the risk factors for developing a deep-vein thrombosis may include acute medical illness, certain types of surgery, cancer, chronic heart or respiratory failure, predisposition to clotting, varicose veins, obesity, pregnancy, birth control pills, postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy, and advanced age.

The council’s initiatives include a comprehensive national observational study of deep-vein thrombosis and the ClotAlert Resource Center, a campaign to educate the public and physicians about the risk factors and symptoms of deep-vein thrombosis.

This story was provided by News USA.