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Long flight may be deadly
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AT least one long-haul passenger dies every month from a blood clot within minutes of landing at Heathrow Airport, a British study into “travellers' thrombosis” has revealed.
But doctors believe that this figure is the tip of the iceberg. Over the past three years, the accident and emergency department closest to the arrivals hall has dealt with 30 air passengers killed by deep vein thrombosis (DVT), known as “economy class syndrome”, a condition linked to cramped airline seats.
Doctors who carried out the study at Ashford Hospital in Surrey believe that more than 2,000 people die from DVT, each year in Britain.
Many researchers believe that cramped airline seats and inactivity during a flight increase the risks of blood clots in the leg.
If the clot is later dislodged, it can travel to the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism.
Although the condition was once known as economy class syndrome, doctors say travellers' thrombosis can affect anyone sitting still for more than a few hours in a plane, bus or car.
Dr George Kassianos, spokesman for the British Travel Health Association, said travellers most at risk were over 40, had a previous history of embolism, were unusually tall or short, suffered from cancer or heart failure, were pregnant, had recently undergone surgery or were obese.
Reginald Lord, an Australian surgeon, said on Wednesday that as many as 400 people a year may be arriving at Sydney Airport suffering from DVT.
Lord said that his own hospital, St Vincent's, had treated 122 cases over the past three years.
Several airlines that have carried passengers who developed the condition on long-haul flights between Australia and Europe are now facing legal action. A Melbourne law firm, Slater and Gordon, claimed this week that it was representing 800 Australians who want to sue 20 international airlines over economy class syndrome.(SD-Agencies)
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