Economy class airline travel doesn’t increase clot risk

If you were spending extra for business-class seats in an effort to avoid dangerous blood clots while traveling, don’t bother. A new evidence-based guideline from the American College of Chest Physicians finds no proof to support “economy class syndrome’’ - an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis due to cramped legroom.

“Traveling in economy class does not increase your risk for developing a blood clot, even during long-distance travel; however, remaining immobile for long periods of time will,’’ guideline coauthor Dr. Mark Crowther of McMaster University in Ontario said in a statement.

Travelers should instead focus on getting a seat on the aisle on long overseas flights, he said, so they can get up and walk around from time to time to reduce the small risk of developing blood clots in their legs.

The guidelines for preventing and treating blood clots, published last week in the journal Chest, reviewed hundreds of studies to outline the best practices for lowering the risks associated with deep vein blood clots in the legs that have the potential to break off and travel to the lungs, causing a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism.

While the risk of developing blood clots on long-distance flights is very low, the vast majority of those who develop them have certain risk factors such as a history of previous blood clots, recent surgery or physical trauma, or advanced age.

The new guidelines recommend that travelers on flights of six hours or more, who have one of the risk factors, sit in an aisle seat if possible and get up to walk around frequently, say, every hour or so.