But there are steps you can take to minimize your risk — read on to find out how.
1. Avoid Sitting for Long Periods of Time While Traveling.
No matter your mode of transportation, it’s important to stand up and stretch every once in a while when you’re taking a long trip.
“We know that blood pooling in the extremities during immobility can increase the risk of clots forming,” explains Andrea Obi, MD, a vascular surgeon and assistant professor at University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor. “The evidence for this is strongest with long flights, for example greater than eight hours, and having an immobilized joint, such as a cast or brace.” She points out that some evidence suggests traveling for four or more hours can increase the risk of DVT, and notes “the modality of travel — plane, train, or automobile — doesn’t matter.”
When on an airplane, stand up frequently and walk the aisles of the plane, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While sitting, flex your calves and ankles at frequent intervals. If you’re traveling a long distance by car, it’s a good idea to stop every 60 to 90 minutes and take a short walk. This will stimulate your leg muscles and get your blood flowing, which in turn lowers the risk of blood pooling and clotting. Because DVT can happen to anyone, stopping to stretch your legs makes sense even if you’ve never had a blood clot.
The same holds true even when you’re not traveling. Experts recommend avoiding sitting for a prolonged period of time in everyday life. Get up to stretch periodically while you’re working or watching television, advises the Mayo Clinic.
2. Stay Hydrated to Reduce the Risk of Blood Thickening.
Dehydration is also a risk factor for DVT, notes NYU Langone Health, so make sure to pay attention to your fluid intake. “Hydration is important because it reduces the viscosity of blood,” Dr. Obi says. “When you are dehydrated, the blood can thicken [and] become sluggish, and this can lead to clotting.”
Keep in mind that alcohol and large quantities of caffeinated beverages are diuretics and can add to your risk of dehydration.
3. Consider Compression Stockings to Encourage Circulation.
If you’re already at greater risk for DVT, talk to your doctor about using compression stockings. As their name states, they put pressure on your calves to encourage blood circulation.
“Compression socks come in all shapes and sizes and pressures,” says Thomas Maldonado, MD, the director of the DVT Center at NYU Langone Health in New York City. “I generally recommend patients get whatever [compression level] they can tolerate.”
He recommends wearing them as much as possible, and notes that for some patients, this means every day. “If you’re going to be on your feet for extended periods of time or if you’re going to be taking long plane trips, these would be times to wear them,” Dr. Maldonado says, adding: “If you have a history of DVT or hypertension then you really should be attuned to wearing them, because they’re really going to help you.”
4. Stop Smoking to Decrease Your Risk of Chronic Conditions.
If you smoke, quit, and if you don’t smoke, don’t start. Smoking cigarettes affects blood clotting and circulation, notes the CDC, which in turn increases the risk of DVT. “Out of the list of bad things smoking can do, it is one of the big modifiable risk factors for DVT,” Maldonado says. “So one of the things I tell my patients is, if you stop smoking, you’re going to decrease your risk for many things, including DVT.”
5. Maintain a Healthy Weight.
Being overweight or obese is another modifiable risk factor, per the CDC, as it increases the pressure in the veins in your legs. Additionally, increased pressure on the large veins in the pelvis from internal fat slows the flow of blood, Obi says. The risk of DVT increases with BMI in a stepwise fashion. “So the incidence is mildly elevated in people with a BMI greater than 25. However, that risk increases roughly threefold in people with a BMI greater than 35,” Obi explains. Individuals who are overweight or obese should aim to get their body weight into a normal range to reduce their risk of DVT and other health problems, she advises. But “any weight loss will likely decrease your risk of thrombosis,” Obi says.
