New research suggests that air travel can diminish the blood's oxygen supply to levels that, on the ground, might require treatment.
Researchers from the Ulster Hospital in Belfast, Ireland, studied 84 airline passengers and found that when flights were at maximum altitude, more than half of the passengers had oxygen saturation levels at or below 94 percent. This means that less than 95 percent of their red blood cells were fully loaded with oxygen, a level at which many doctors would give a person supplemental oxygen.
All the passengers, whether on short or long flights, showed declines in their blood oxygen levels, with the average oxygen saturation descending from 97 percent on the ground to 93 percent at cruising altitude. The main concern with such oxygen dips is how they could affect passengers with heart or lung disease.
For someone with lung disease, a loss of a few percentage points in oxygen saturation could trigger shortness of breath. A person with heart disease may suffer chest pain, or have an increased risk of a heart attack or irregular heart rhythm. It's also possible that significant drops in oxygen levels could contribute to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) - blood clots in the legs that some passengers develop during long-haul flights. Besides the effects it can have on the chronically ill, oxygen deprivation can create some less serious problems during and after a flight, including physical and mental fatigue, headache and digestive problems.
According to the researchers, in-flight symptoms such as breathlessness, chest pain or confusion may signal that a person has dropping oxygen levels. In such cases, passengers with heart or lung disease can ask the crew for oxygen. Healthy people may need only to drink some water, as dehydration compounds the effects of oxygen loss. Avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills may also help.
They suggested that before taking a flight, people with heart or lung disease have their doctors measure their oxygen saturation. If it is already low, then patients will know it could drop to problematic levels, and they could tell the airline they will need oxygen during the flight.
Researchers from the Ulster Hospital in Belfast, Ireland, studied 84 airline passengers and found that when flights were at maximum altitude, more than half of the passengers had oxygen saturation levels at or below 94 percent. This means that less than 95 percent of their red blood cells were fully loaded with oxygen, a level at which many doctors would give a person supplemental oxygen.
All the passengers, whether on short or long flights, showed declines in their blood oxygen levels, with the average oxygen saturation descending from 97 percent on the ground to 93 percent at cruising altitude. The main concern with such oxygen dips is how they could affect passengers with heart or lung disease.
For someone with lung disease, a loss of a few percentage points in oxygen saturation could trigger shortness of breath. A person with heart disease may suffer chest pain, or have an increased risk of a heart attack or irregular heart rhythm. It's also possible that significant drops in oxygen levels could contribute to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) - blood clots in the legs that some passengers develop during long-haul flights. Besides the effects it can have on the chronically ill, oxygen deprivation can create some less serious problems during and after a flight, including physical and mental fatigue, headache and digestive problems.
According to the researchers, in-flight symptoms such as breathlessness, chest pain or confusion may signal that a person has dropping oxygen levels. In such cases, passengers with heart or lung disease can ask the crew for oxygen. Healthy people may need only to drink some water, as dehydration compounds the effects of oxygen loss. Avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills may also help.
They suggested that before taking a flight, people with heart or lung disease have their doctors measure their oxygen saturation. If it is already low, then patients will know it could drop to problematic levels, and they could tell the airline they will need oxygen during the flight.