Air Travel Doesn't Pose Heart-Health Threat, U.K. Panel Says in Guidance
A report says low-risk patients may fly as soon as three days after a heart attack. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Air travel isn’t necessarily dangerous for people with some heart conditions, a U.K. panel said in new guidance.
Low-risk patients may fly as soon as three days after a heart attack, according to a British Cardiovascular Society working group report published today in the journal Heart. The panel recommended that only patients with high-risk conditions defer air travel until their condition stabilizes.
“The aircraft cabin environment doesn’t pose a major threat,” David Smith, chairman of the working group and a cardiologist at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, said in a telephone interview. “But you don’t want to be in the plane if something is likely to happen.”
The panel began working on guidelines after the House of Lords asked for guidance on potential heart risks of air travel. Flights longer than four hours double a traveler’s risk of potentially deadly blood clots, a World Health Organization study found in 2007. Known as deep-vein thrombosis, the clots can form in the legs and be fatal when they move to the lungs.
Obese or pregnant passengers or those with a history of blood clots should wear compression stockings, keep mobile and drink plenty of non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic drinks, the U.K. panel recommended. The risk is similar to traveling by bus, train or car for the same length of time, the group said. The panel also issued fitness-to-fly recommendations for patients with irregular heartbeat, chronic heart failure, valve disease and other conditions.
Some potential health threats come before passengers ever board the plane, due to anxiety, anger about delays and the physical exertion of lugging baggage through the airport, the authors wrote.
To contact the reporter on this story: Naomi Kresge in Zurich at nkresge@bloomberg.net
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