DVT and Airtravel

[Hamilton65]

Does anyone know if having a history of DVT affects your Class1 cert?

Thanks

[Pace]

As you joined Aug this year and this is your first post I have to question whether this is a windup?

I am no medic but if you have a history of DVTs as you claim then that would indicate that you have circulation problems not just in your legs.
As such i would guess that you would have problems in other areas which would cause a problem with your class 1.

May I add from a pilot non medical perspective that many people spend as many hours sitting in sedentary jobs or in front of a computer as they do on long haul flights.

DVTs as unique to long haul flights seem a bit of the flavour of the month or a concocted condition which has attached to aviation but which is probably just as likely in your daily work especially stuck in front of a computer.

Now I have got that off my chest have fun and maybe someone who really knows may answer your question.

Pace

[gingernut]

I think it may depend on how the original diagnosis was reached, your eventual treatment and outcome, and risk factors for a future event.

[homonculus]

I dont know the answer either (well it is a forum!) but the CAUSE seems to me to be the big issue, followed by the extent of the thrombus and any secondary damage.

And no, sitting in front of a computer is not the same! The reason for thrombembolic phenomena is multifactorial but includes the effect of depressuriasation. It is a real issue. We now have a faily precise protocol to advise patients.

The big mystery is why pilots dont get so many DVTs........

[wondering]

For starters try JAR FCL 3 (JAA) or 'Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners' (FAA). Both can be found in the www and answer a few questions regarding DVT.

[cavortingcheetah]

I know someone who was diagnosed with DVT in the UK. She developed excruciating cramps after a very long haul flight. She was chemically tested at a leading NHS hospital. The test proved positive for DVT. She was put on some nourishing supplement of rat poison for a while; rat poison in that she had to take Warfarin to dilute the blood.
Now whenever she flies long haul she injects herself with a little drop of something which helps prevent DVT. She wears special socks and tries to walk around the economy cabin on a long haul flight at least every three to four hours.
Part of the problem or so I am led to believe, is that if a clot returns, she'll be on blood thinners for life. This apparently is not a terribly good medication for the arterial walls and can lead to pulmonary embolisms which I believe can be spectacularly messy and always fatal.
I have not written this screed above with any great attention to medical detail because I'm not a doctor but it might help explain why maybe you shouldn't be let anywhere near any cockpit if you suffer from DVT.

I've never known of a pilot suffer from this ailment but I can assure you that no pilot seat or cockpit in which I have spent long hours has ever been as cramped as an economy seat on any airline on which I've ever flown as a passenger.

[Background Noise]

I've had a DVT and have a current medical. My father has had a pulmonary embolism and isn't dead.