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NORTHEAST GEORGIA - New research finds it's okay to fly if you have heart problems, as long as you don't get too worked up by luggage woes. Does air travel put stress on the heart? According to a new guideline drawn up by the British Cardiovascular Society, air travel had "no significant threat" to cardiovascular health. But here's what they did find. The new recommendations published in the Journal, Heart, noted the main physical impact of air travel is breathing in air with reduced oxygen. This can lower circulating oxygen levels in the blood in a pressurized environment, such as a plane.
Traditionally, physicians believed that passengers already at high risk of angina, heart attack, heart failure, or abnormal heart rhythms may be adversely affected, but researchers found blood oxygen levels induced by flying "appear to have little or no adverse effects on the circulatory systems, especially during short and medium-length flights.
The guidelines also noted that a pacemaker does not prohibit flying, and while long flights double the risk of deep vein thrombosis, the risk is similar to that when a person is in a car, bus, or train for a similar period of time.
But the report says other airport stresses, such as security measures, luggage woes, mixed-up flight schedules and the threat of terrorism could have an impact on those with heart problems.
