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Pastimes : The New Qualcomm - write what you like thread. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (7303)	5/16/2006 10:21:58 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 12246

Reuters piece on "deep vein thrombosis" (DVT) .............................. May 16, 2006 Economy class syndrome not due to pressure: study By Michael Conlon CHICAGO (Reuters) - Reduced air pressure and oxygen levels do not appear to promote the formation of deadly blood clots during long commercial flights, an ailment sometimes called "economy class syndrome," a report said on Tuesday. The findings seem to bolster the widely held belief that clots develop in otherwise healthy people mainly because they are sitting in cramped quarters that slow blood flow, especially in the legs, not because of cabin environment. Travelers have been advised for several years to try to exercise their leg and calf muscles or walk around the cabin to prevent the development of clots that can travel to the lungs, brain or heart. The same problem can occur during long car or train trips. Researchers at England's University of Leicester said they ruled out cabin pressure and oxygen changes as contributors to the problem by testing 73 healthy volunteers. They were placed in seats for eight hours in a chamber where the air pressure and oxygen levels mimicked those experienced during commercial air travel. They were allowed to stand up and move about for five minutes every hour. The same group was retested at ground-level pressure and oxygen levels. Blood was drawn before and after each of the tests. The researchers said they found no significant difference between the two tests on clot formation, on the breakdown of small, naturally occurring clots, in the activation of platelets -- cells in the blood that clump together when stimulated to promote clot formation -- or in the action of endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels. In a typical commercial flight, the cabin pressure is equivalent to that found at 5,000 to 7,000 feet (1,500 to 2,100 metres) resulting in oxygen saturation that is about 7 percent below normal, the study said. The problem has been dubbed "economy-class syndrome." But victims have been reported throughout cabin classes over the years, the American Heart Association says. The association advises air travelers to drink extra water, walk if possible during the flight and avoid alcohol. The study, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, was funded by the European Commission and the UK Department of Health. © Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.