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This report from an international panel of travel medicine specialists looks at Deep Vein Thrombosis and how to prevent it.

A press conference on the hot topic of "Economy Class Syndrome" was the hit with the leisure travel press at the 8th annual Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine. Economy Class syndrome is not a complaint about peanuts and pretzels -- it refers to the ailment known as Deep Vein Thrombosis, the growth of blood cots and other vascular disorders resulting from sitting in cramped positions for long periods of time. At its most severe, DVT can lead to a fatal pulmonary embolism.

According to studies done by Dr. Wolfgang Schobersberger, professor of intensive care medicine at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, there is a two- to four-fold increase in the risk on pulmonary embolism for passengers taking flights 5000 kms or more.

Might this be the reason behind the ailing airline industry's move to increase seat pitch on long haul flights?  Announcing first that the syndrome should be properly called Traveler's Thrombosis (read on), the researchers explained their fascinating study. 

With the cooperation of Austrian Airlines, Dr. Schobersberger's team found 20 travel buffs who were willing to fly from Vienna to Washington DC wired to various medical machines.  With a medical history for each of the subjects at hand, the team collected blood samples from the passengers seated in first, business and economy classes, between the fifth and seventh hour of flight, and found that each was displaying an increase in blood coagulation which, though harmless to these subjects, could present a risk to people predisposed to vascular ailments. These symptoms persisted for 24 to 48 hours after the flight in travelers of every age group.