Rollingthunder
23rd Oct 2000, 03:30
The parents of a 28-year-old woman who died
from deep vein thrombosis after a 12,000-mile
flight are calling for airlines to give out health warnings. It is believed that bride-to-be Emma Christoffersen, from Newport, south Wales, died from the so-called "economy class syndrome" after flying 12,000 miles from Australia in a cramped seating position.
Tests showed Ms Christoffersen died from
deep-veined thrombosis (DVT) which is
suffered by dozens of airline passengers each
year.
Her parents Ruth and John Christoffersen have
urged long-haul airline operators to give
pre-flight warnings of the dangers of DVT to
passengers.
Ms Christoffersen complained of feeling
unwell after returning to Heathrow, London, from a three-week trip to Australia.
She lost consciousness in the arrivals hall and died before reaching hospital.
A post mortem examination revealed the cause
of her death was DVT, a pulmonary embolism
or blood clot which forms in a vein, usually in the leg, and works its way into the heart or lungs where it causes sudden death.
Mrs Christoffersen, 54, from Underwood,
Newport, said: "We were told she died from
sitting in the cramped seat of a jumbo jet for such a long time."I'd never heard of the condition before but passengers on long flights suffer from reduced circulation and that can cause a blood clot.
'Fit and healthy'
"I don't want other parents to go through what we have endured and that is why I want to give this warning about danger of flying.
"I don't see why the dangers could not be
spelled out during the normal safety warnings
just before take-off."
Emma's fiance Tim Stuart, 35, said she had
been fit and healthy.
"It's not as if she had never been on a plane
before - we had been on holiday to the States
twice and Barbados on long-haul flights."
Doctors say a simple aspirin tablet taken a few hours before take-off would dramatically cut the number of victims by thinning the blood during long- periods of inactivity in a cramped aircraft seat.
Aspirin advice - The Aviation Health Institute which researches air deaths is sending a five-point plan to the Minister for Aviation aimed at cutting deaths from DVT.
Director Farrol Kahn said that airlines and
travel agencies should provide an aspirin with every flight ticket.He also advised airplane passengers to exercise the lower leg and foot and to get up and walk the aisles occasionally.
Qantas spokeswoman Sally Martin, the airline's General Manager for UK and Ireland, said: "Our sincere sympathies are with Emma's family. "The safety of our passengers is always of paramount importance and indeed we do refer to the possible effects of flying in our in-flight magazine."
BBC News Online
from deep vein thrombosis after a 12,000-mile
flight are calling for airlines to give out health warnings. It is believed that bride-to-be Emma Christoffersen, from Newport, south Wales, died from the so-called "economy class syndrome" after flying 12,000 miles from Australia in a cramped seating position.
Tests showed Ms Christoffersen died from
deep-veined thrombosis (DVT) which is
suffered by dozens of airline passengers each
year.
Her parents Ruth and John Christoffersen have
urged long-haul airline operators to give
pre-flight warnings of the dangers of DVT to
passengers.
Ms Christoffersen complained of feeling
unwell after returning to Heathrow, London, from a three-week trip to Australia.
She lost consciousness in the arrivals hall and died before reaching hospital.
A post mortem examination revealed the cause
of her death was DVT, a pulmonary embolism
or blood clot which forms in a vein, usually in the leg, and works its way into the heart or lungs where it causes sudden death.
Mrs Christoffersen, 54, from Underwood,
Newport, said: "We were told she died from
sitting in the cramped seat of a jumbo jet for such a long time."I'd never heard of the condition before but passengers on long flights suffer from reduced circulation and that can cause a blood clot.
'Fit and healthy'
"I don't want other parents to go through what we have endured and that is why I want to give this warning about danger of flying.
"I don't see why the dangers could not be
spelled out during the normal safety warnings
just before take-off."
Emma's fiance Tim Stuart, 35, said she had
been fit and healthy.
"It's not as if she had never been on a plane
before - we had been on holiday to the States
twice and Barbados on long-haul flights."
Doctors say a simple aspirin tablet taken a few hours before take-off would dramatically cut the number of victims by thinning the blood during long- periods of inactivity in a cramped aircraft seat.
Aspirin advice - The Aviation Health Institute which researches air deaths is sending a five-point plan to the Minister for Aviation aimed at cutting deaths from DVT.
Director Farrol Kahn said that airlines and
travel agencies should provide an aspirin with every flight ticket.He also advised airplane passengers to exercise the lower leg and foot and to get up and walk the aisles occasionally.
Qantas spokeswoman Sally Martin, the airline's General Manager for UK and Ireland, said: "Our sincere sympathies are with Emma's family. "The safety of our passengers is always of paramount importance and indeed we do refer to the possible effects of flying in our in-flight magazine."
BBC News Online