Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.

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A word on Flying

markarina
markarina
Just thought I would put this up as a reminder, unless I am much mistaken the main issue with flying is more to do with the potential long periods of immobility rather than anything else. So we can be just as much at risk on a long car journey (especially if you are the passenger), or a long train journey, generally anything that means you sit still for long periods of time.

The key to us staying safe is keep well hydrated, try to get up and walk around every hour or so, wear compression socks and don't sit with your legs crossed.
shachar
shachar
Hi, Markarina. From what I understand, the immobility is one factor, but there may be other factors involved in flying that contribute to clotting. My doctor told me not to fly for at least 6 months following my PE, and hinted that long flights were not a good idea in any case.
cjmenjou
cjmenjou
My hematologist doesn't think it's "compelling," but I believe that my PEs developed after doing a half ironman triathlon in warm weather (lots of leg cramping, dehydration), followed by probably a 6 pack of beer that night (only really drink when camping, and we were), and then a 5+ hour drive home where we stopped once for gas.

3 weeks later my symptoms started.

I agree that any long travel - car, train, bus, airplane - is a risk factor
deleted_user
deleted_user
I agree that, at present, it is thought that the immobility is the main issue. However, there is evidence to suggest that there are other factors. A couple of studies have looked at simulated reduced O2 levels equivalent to cabin cruising altitude and the body doesn't react the same to these simulations at sea level as it does to an actual flight cruising at altitude. So personally I think there is more to it than the immobility issue but I'll have to wait and see what the results of some of the ongoing research in this area churns out over next few years.
More2be
More2be
Again, whatever the factors, advise your unaffected athlete friends.

http://www.airhealth.org/athletes.html
rmb
rmb
Yeah, I think there's a couple of things at play here. It's so easy to get dehydrated while flying vs in a car, so that with the immobility isn't a great thing. Doesn't mean you don't fly but it's stuff you have to think about when you're flying.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I started feeling pain almost immediately at the end of a 8 hour car ride. (I stopped halfway for an hour and a half but apparently that didn't matter.) Not sure yet if I have a genetic predisposition but I was also on birth control and I was told that either the car ride or the bc would have been enough on their own to cause a clot. I advise everyone taking long car rides to stop often, even if the two year old twins are sleeping in the back seat....
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