Air Travel for Heart Patients
Today I will talk to you about air travel for Heart Patients with heart disease commercial airplanes typically travel at an altitude between twenty-two thousand and forty-four thousand feet to improve efficiency.
Cabin pressure for heart patients
The airplane pressurization process maintains cabin pressure at an altitude equivalent ranging from five thousand to 8000 feet at that altitude the barometric pressure is decreased by 200 millimeters of mercury to about 560 compared with the 760 millimeters of mercury at sea level the net effect is a partial pressure of oxygen in inspired air of 108 millimeters of mercury with the associated partial pressure of oxygen in the arterial blood of normal individuals of 60 millimeters of mercury individuals with a normal cardiac function can easily compensate for the reduced arterial oxygenation at these altitudes and maintain adequate tissue perfusion heart disease patients with little or no reserve are at risk for profound arterial desaturation and cardiopulmonary decompensation.
Symptoms for heart patients
these patients might experience light-headedness chest pain tingling in the extremities palpitations Disney and hyperventilation further stress from air travel may result from associated immobility jet lag vibration noise and low humidity the safety of air travel has been increased by the united states federal aviation administration requirement that was implemented in 2004.http://wikkipedia
that all aircraft carrying at least 30 passengers and having at least one flight attendant carry an emergency medical kit and an automated external defibrillator the aed in a united states study the most common reason for a flight to be diverted were cardiac incidents of 28 percent followed by new life problems of 20 percent and food poisoning of 20 it is likely that the majority of cardiac incidents are vasovagal syncope related to dehydration alcohol recumbency and emotional stress in a 19-month study between 2004 and 2005 of transporting patients with a recent myocardial infarction while on holiday back to their country of origin a total of 213 patients were transported 6 to 38 days following a heart attack and no serious complication occurred in any of these patients the current guidelines recommendation for heart disease patients are as follows
Supplemental oxygen
if a patient requires supplemental oxygen at sea level then that patient will require supplemental oxygen during air travel and that should be arranged for the flight patients with chronic stable angular routine stress testing prior to air travel is not necessary unless there has been a recent significant change in clinical status for patients who had a heart attack the American colleague of Cardiology and the American heart association recommends that air travel within the first two weeks after a heart attack should only be undertaken.
if the patient has no anginal chest pain and no shortness of breath at rest hello exercise testing after a heart attack may be reasonable to assess functional capacity and the ability to perform tasks at home and at work and assess the risk of subsequent cardiac events recent heart attack patients should have a companion during travel and should request airport transportation to avoid rushing patients who had a heart attack complicated by severely reduced heart function or another significant complication should not fly until two weeks after they are deemed medically stable patients who had coronary artery stenting air travel should be avoided for at least two days in uncomplicated cases and two weeks in complicated cases patients who had coronary artery bypass surgery air travel should be postponed for at least 10 days after surgery as there is a potential risk of borrow trauma caused by expanding gases artificially introduced to the chest during coronary bypass surgery for patients
who had pacemakers or implantable defibrillators air travel has not been shown to interfere with the function of these devices and they can’t travel within two days after implantation patients should carry a card identifying the type of the device when passing through airport security patients should request a non-detector hand surge if possible and that the detector is not to be held over the implanted device for more than a few seconds and that at least 30 seconds should elapse between passes much newer generation implanted defibrillator devices and pacemakers have been designed to resist the rigors of metal detectors and magnetic resonance imaging the MRI patients at risk of defense thrombosis and risk of pulmonary embolism should be advised to exercise their legs and arms at regular intervals and with long flights take walks within the aisle every hour the use of below the knee compression stockings should also be considered aspirin and anticoagulation therapy may be appropriate?
