Did Deep vein thrombosis and airline travel—the deadly duo take Tim Russerts life ?

Deep vein thrombosis and airline travel—the deadly duo - Tim Russert dies

Air travel has become the most popular mode of long-distance travel in the United States and abroad. Figures published by the International Air Transport Association in 1998 suggest an ever-increasing rise in the number of airline passengers--from 1.4 billion in 1997 to 1.5 billion in 1998 with a prediction of two billion airline travelers by 2003. (5)

Given these statistics, it is important to consider the physical effects of traveling long distances by airplane. Approximately 2,000 Americans died from travel-related DVT strokes in 1999. (6) Newspaper headlines, such as "Long Flights Can Cause Blood Clots, Group Warns," "Airlines Sued Over Blood Clots," and "International Carriers Address New Threat: Coach-Class Syndrome," highlight a growing concern about the formation of fatal blood clots after long airline flights as a public health problem. (7)

International airports and hospitals near airports report alarming statistics.

* As many as 400 people per year may be arriving at Sydney Airport in Australia suffering from DVT. (8)

* At least one long-distance airplane passenger dies every month from a blood clot within minutes of landing at Heathrow Airport. (9)

* A nurse from a hospital near a British airport stated that the hospital receives approximately 10 patients per month who are experiencing problems related to air travel. (10)

* Physicians at Ashford Hospital, London, which treats patients who arrive at Heathrow Airport, say that more than 2,000 people die from flight-related DVT every year in Britain. (11)