Long distance travel has a lot of health risks and one of them is blood clot in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) which travels to the lungs (pulmonary embolism). This can be prevented or the sudden death from this is mostly preventable in the 21st century.
If you engage in travelling long distances frequently either by air or road, then here are a few tips to check out before, during or after travel.
(1) Get a physical exam with vital signs checked within a month of departure date
(2) For a flight or drive, greater than 4 hours duration, start taking one baby aspirin tablet, 81mg with food 3 to 7 days prior to departure UNLESS YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO ASPIRIN, MOTRIN OR ADVIL OR HAS A HISTORY OF BLEEDING ULCER OR GI BLEED.
(3) During the long distance trip, move your legs, get up and walk around, hydrate well by drinking water.
(4) Any unusual swelling, soreness and or pain in the legs especially the calf muscles before, during or after the trip MUST not be ignored. Notify a crew member, a traveling partner or health care professional or go to the nearest health care facility.
(5) If you experience the symptoms above plus tiredness, shortness of breath or chest pain, these are imminent signs of impending doom, call 911 or tell the flight crew immediately.
(6) If you have a history of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol or you are overweight, you have sickle cell disease, anemia, cancer, you smoke, had a heart attack or a past history of blood clots in the legs, lung or pelvis during pregnancy or child birth, you are at high risk for developing these.