Serious concerns have been expressed for some time about the number of people developing DVT's - blood clots which generally start in the legs of a victim and then break away to either affect the lungs and heart frequently with fatal outcomes. Although most airlines refuse to acknowledge the connection between DVT and long distance travel, British Airways from the beginning of January 2001 has begun printing information on passenger tickets warning them of the dangers, and it will publish a guidance leaflet on the issue in February. It is introducing a new flight safety video which will cover DVT from April 2001 and also now has the information on the health part of its web-site. The Campaign has been named "Are you fit to fly?"

In the past it has been assumed that the number of cases of DVT was very small but checks at hospitals close to major airports show that this is untrue. John Bulstead Consultant at Ashford Hospital which is the closest A & E Hospital/Trauma Unit to Heathrow confirmed that more than 300 persons have died from this symptom at the unit as a result of DVT's following long distance flights. East Surrey Hospital the nearest hospital to London Gatwick airport reported 100 cases of DVT in the past year. The British Travel Health Association believes that there about 2500 reported cases per year in the UK.

But other Countries are showing similar trends - the nearest hospital to Sydney's International Airport claims around 300 fatalities relating to DVT's in the past three years. Slater and Gordon, a leading Australian Law Firm, claims that the number of passengers sueing over DVT's has grown to more than 800 and said that leading airlines would be targeted such as British Airways, Qantas, Air France, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, & Air Canada.

Journalists have frequently called DVT's in aviation an "economy class syndrome". However whilst the large majority of cases come from passengers traveling more than six hours in economy cabins, there have been some cases arising in both Business and First Class. One problem is that those dying frequently did not notice any advance symptoms and secondly apart from those becoming unwell on the aircraft or in the airport there were many others who had the DVT's several weeks after the flight.

Dr Bulstead claims that there are certain things that passengers can do to reduce the risk. One is to ensure that they exercise before and during the flight. It is recommended that there is a regular movement of the toes, feet and legs at least once per hour and to avoid sitting cross-legged at the knees or ankles. The exercise should include rotating the feet, flexing feet by pointing toes away from the body and then towards your head, and moving legs up and down in a marching action. Elevating the legs is also helpful. Dr Bulstead states that he personally takes an aspirin before a flight and wears compression bandages on his legs but says that you should consult your own doctor before doing so. Compression (Elastic) bandages encourage blood to flow from the legs to the heart and prevent pooling of blood in the legs.

Doctors also have identified groups of persons who are considered to be at higher levels of risk and these include pregnant women, those taking oral contraception, overweight persons, those suffering from varicose veins, have exiisting heart disease, those who have had recent surgery, the aged, and smokers. Long distance travelers are advised to avoid alcohol and caffeine.

Reprint with permission from The International Safety Council Listserv (Newsletter) January 17th 2001