Travel Health RisksDVTVTEleg veinsvessel wall
Why does air travel increase the risk of VTE?
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a series of vascular diseases that involves blood clotting in the veins. In this video, Dr Jessie Shea explains why long distance traveling can hugely increase the risk of having VTE.
Transcript (auto-generated)
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
DVT can result as a period of prolonged immobility due to long distance travel. Prolonged cramped sitting during long distance travel interferes with blood flow in the leg veins slowing it down. Seating edge pressure on the backs of your knees may contribute to vessel wall damage as well as blood pooling. Activation of clotting may result from interaction between cabin conditions such as lower oxygen at altitude and individual risk factors for VTE. The risk of VTE increases with the duration of travel and with multiple flights during a short period.
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