Heart Health
Ask the doctors: How can I prevent another clot?
Q. One year ago when I was flying home from a ski trip, my legs were cramped due to luggage under my seat. To make a long story short, I was soon found to have a blood clot in my right calf and a small blood clot in my lungs. I was treated with warfarin for three months and did just fine. Now I want to take a long plane trip to South America, and am wondering whether I need to do anything to reduce my risk of another blood clot.
A. This is a tough one. For anyone taking a long plane flight, I advise drinking plenty of fluids and getting up to walk around every hour or so. That might be enough to reduce your risk of blood clots. I would feel more comfortable with that approach if I knew you had had a clear cause for your blood clots back then, such as trauma to your leg.
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