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MEDIA RELEASE
8
December 2009
Flying and thrombosis: preventing blood clots in travellers at high risk
Travellers at higher risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and fatal blood clots during
long journeys may benefit from taking medicines before departure, according to Dr Frank Firkin
and Dr Harshal Nandurkar of St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, writing in the latest edition of
Australian Prescriber.
The risk of DVT is increased during long-haul flights (flights of more than four hours), and can
remain a risk several weeks afterwards. Approximately one case of clinically-confirmed DVT
occurs in every 4500 long-haul flights.
Those with a higher risk of DVT are women on the contraceptive pill, people with a personal or
family history of blood clots, and those with cancer or heart disease or who have recently
undergone surgery. Smoking, dehydration, obesity and varicose veins can also increase risk.
While walking around the cabin may reduce the risk of DVT, movement can be difficult on a
crowded plane, and it is unknown how effective doing leg exercises while seated is at
preventing these conditions.
While it has been thought aspirin may protect against DVT, the authors say there is no evidence
for this. They recommend doctors consider giving travellers at high risk of DVT preventative
medicines (anticoagulants) such as heparin.
The authors conclude that while those at high risk of DVT may benefit from anticoagulants,
these medicines have not been shown to benefit travellers with a low risk of developing DVT.
Media enquiries to Katie Butt, NPS Media Adviser, 02 8217 8667 or kbutt@nps.org.au
Australian Prescriber is an independent peer-reviewed journal providing critical commentary on therapeutic topics for
health professionals, particularly doctors in general practice. It is published by the National Prescribing Service
Limited (NPS), an independent, not-for-profit organisation for quality use of medicines funded by the Australian
Government Department of Health and Ageing. Australian Prescriber is distributed every two months in hard copy to
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