Traveling with Heart Disease
In honor of World Health Day on April 7, the b5media Science and Health Channel is holding a Theme Day devoted to global issues hosted at Veggie Chic. When I think of the globe, I picture an airplane flying around it. Over the years, I’ve spent a great deal of time in an airplane going from one continent to another, fortunately without any major mishaps.
Not everyone travels free of health worries. Because world travel is increasingly easier and more affordable, more travelers than ever take to the roads and the skies even if they have chronic diseases that would have previously kept them homebound. For them, there are some special considerations when globetrotting.
At one point, air travellers were warned about the possibility of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), blood clots that form in the legs that can break off and cause breathlessness, sharp chest pain, and even death. To minimize the possibility of developing DVT, you should drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids during the flight, move your ankles and massage your calves, wear loose clothing, and take note of any unusual pains or symptoms.
If you have heart disease, here are some tips from The Merck Manual for planning your world travels along with a few tips from me:
- You should not travel if you have angina pectoris, heart failure, or rhythm disturbances with symptoms. You should also avoid travel if you have had a heart attack within 14 days or a heart attack causing shock or heart failure within the past 8 weeks.
- Carry a copy of a recent electrocardiogram
- Bring a doctor’s letter documenting the type of implantable defibrillator or coronary stent you have in your body along with the position and other details.
- Do not stand in a walk-through metal detector for more than 15 seconds and make sure that if you get wanded, they know they should not hold the detector over the defibrillator for more than 5 seconds.
- Ask for low-sodium, low-fat meals
- Make a note of all the meds you’re taking including the brand name and the generic name in case you need a refill at your destination.
- Research the nearest medical clinic at your destination that caters to tourists or foreigners.
- Buy travel insurance if necessary.
What other tips do you have for conquering the world despite heart disease?
Tags: world health day, traveling, travel, heart, heart disease, diseases, illness, health, medicine, drugs
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POSTED IN: Hearty Tips
4 opinions for Traveling with Heart Disease
Amélie
Apr 4, 2007 at 2:50 pm
That’s a very good list :) For the meds, it’s always a good idea to take several days worth extra as well as the prescription(s), just in case there’s a problem with the return flight. Luckily my pills are very tiny so that’s easy for me ;)
Also, check the altitude of your destination and ask your doctor if you can handle it. You might be going to a place at a higher altitude (with lower oxygen levels) and not even realize it. When we went to Calgary last year I didn’t know that it was that high until I got there and I got out of breath just when walking around for a few minutes. It’s next to the Canadian Rockies so people consider it “low altitude” (and it’s described that way in guidebooks, etc.) but it’s higher than any mountain in England! (Ok we don’t have mountains, but I mean it’s significantly higher than anywhere else I’d lived before, and it took my body a little while to adapt.)
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Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Apr 6, 2007 at 12:41 am
Amélie: Good point about the altitude! I guess everything’s relative, right? I hadn’t realized that there aren’t too many hills here in London either aside from the slopes out of the pedestrian underpass. :P
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