Air travellers who start fainting may be developing blood clots in the circulation, researchers warned yesterday.
A new study suggests that fainting after flying may be a key sign of the condition developing.
The theory comes from an analysis of some 548 patients admitted to a hospital emergency department over a five-year period with pulmonary embolism – a dangerous condition caused by blood clots.
Some 10% had symptoms of fainting and almost half of these had been recent air travellers. Just 8% of the remaining patients had flown recently.
Researcher Dr Robert Rifenburg reported his findings to the annual conference of the American College of Chest Physicians in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr Rifenburg’s hospital, the Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA, is close to the city’s O’Hare airport, one of the USA’s busiest international airports.
Dr Rifenburg said: "Fainting may be an atypical symptom of pulmonary embolism, but fainting associated with recent air travel is a dangerous combination."
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