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Mark J. Terrill / AP
Rapper Heavy D died at age 44 from a deep vein thrombosis, said a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. Shortly before his death, he'd taken a long flight from England to the U.S.
Heavy D’s name highlights one of the risk factors for the pulmonary embolism that killed him: obesity.
The 44-year-old rapper, whose real name was Dwight Arrington Myers, collapsed outside his Beverly Hills home Nov. 8 and died later at a hospital. He had recently flown from England to Los Angeles, which, combined with his weight and a pre-existing heart condition, caused deep leg vein thrombosis, said Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. A blood clot, or thrombus becomes especially dangerous when a piece of it breaks off and travels to the lung, as it did in Myers' case.
It’s been known since the early 1950s that air travel was linked to blood clots. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research has shown that long-distance travel longer than four hours, compared to not traveling at all, doubled the risk, which remained elevated for two months after the trip.
One study of nearly 9,000 employees of several international companies and organizations found that the absolute risk of a blood clot was one per 4,656 flights more than four hours long, according to the CDC. Other risk factors include recent major surgery, oral contraceptives, pregnancy and cancer.
“The clots that kill you are big,” says Dr. Jody Henson, an emergency medicine physician at Scott & White Hospital in Round Rock, Texas. “Typically, if it was big enough, you’d feel some pain in your legs or some swelling in your calf muscles.”
Of course, Henson notes, obese passengers might not notice swelling in their legs. But, like pregnant women, they’re at a greater risk for clots because blood doesn’t return as quickly from their legs to their heart.
To minimize the risk of a potentially lethal blood clot when taking a long trip, whether by plane, train or automobile, Henson says, get up and move around periodically, or at least wiggle your legs back and forth. Staying hydrated—skip the alcoholic beverages—helps too, according to the CDC.
And when you’re making your flight reservation, you might want to ask for an aisle seat. A 2008 Dutch study of recent air travelers found double the risk of a blood clot in those who had a window seat, particularly if they were obese. That’s probably because they were more cramped, the researchers speculated.
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Sitting on long flights isn't the issue. Obesity is. Misleading headline.
i disagree
while obesity puts someone at risk, the trigger is still often something like inactivity
certainly the average person has less to worry about on long flights
But obesity is a risk factor for DVT. That combined with long periods of inactivity is certainly a risky combination
Other important risk factors include smoking and birth control pills, which obviously are present in many people
Agree with Eric......there are several risk factors that can lead to a clot - obesity, cancer, inactivity, surgery, birth control, etc - but not everyone who has one of these gets a clot.
His obesity was just one factor that led to his clot. Combining several risk factors makes it more likely to get a clot (ie never smoke while on birth control), and it was more the mix of the obesity and air travel that caused it in him rather than just one or the other.
...Said two obese people in denial.
Oooh, look out, everybody! Linda's able to peek through the Intertubes!
Actually, Linda, Kate and Eric are absolutely correct.
You, on the other hand, are talking out your ass (which may or may not be obese, I can't quite make it out from here) . . .
linda,
really? not only are you completely wrong, but that comment was unnecessary
Trust me, i know more about this topic than you. I have taken care of many hospitalized patients with DVT and PEs. My most recent was a young female with massive PEs as her presenting sign of lupus. She was not obese
I suspect you are one of those individuals who is meek in real life and tries to make up for it online by being rude; having some "internet courage" if you will
Its actually quite pitiful
Truckdrivers tend to have this issue too, I almost lost my father (& no linda he's not obese) to this due to his having to sit for extended periods
Linda, I don't think any obese person is truly in denial . . . . except to other people who get after them for being obese.
No, sitting on long flights is the issue. In the case of this Heavy D, the risk was exacerbated by obesity. Sitting on long flights will elevate the risk of blood clots in everyone, even skinny people.
@ Linda - Two obese people in denial? That is a nasty comment. My sister died after a blood clot traveled to her brain, she was alone when it happened. She was 33. She was healthy. 5'10", 140 pounds, solid and strong, exercised six days a week, non-smoker. She was also a world traveler, making cross-Atlantic flights at least twice a month. She had taken oral birth control on and off since her teens. So whether it was the flight time, the b.c., or some other factor, it had nothing to do with obesity. I am not obese either, maybe 10 pounds overweight, 5'9" and a 160 pounds. So whatever your reasoning for saying anyone who has a blood clot, or sympathy for those who have suffered from a clot must be obese, all it does it make you look mean. Don't be a troll. Nobody likes trolls.
I flew from Washington State to Chicago, then to Puerto Rico, went on a 10 day cruise, flew back to New York, and then back to Seattle...I was never so screwed up in my life. I thought for sure my head was going to explode, it felt like a fight for life the last 3 hours in the air...not sure what it was, but it sure sucked. BTY; I was a laborer at the time, in great shape, and didn't drink any alcohol.
Those who say stuff like this doesn't happen - are the ones who die from their own stubbornness.
I agree with Klondiko. Want to live long? Quit making your plate a trough.
There isn't a chance in hell that this won't end up with the airline paying a fortune to his estate and to the attourny representing his estate. I wonder how much.
No it won't. Why should it?
Blood clots are always possible when flying. It's not the airline's fault, nor would anyone think it was. Any attempt to sue the airline would most surely fail.
I fly 22 hours a day Costa Rica to Hong Kong 2 RT a week in economy class,never had a problem,you have to get up and walk around. I'm 55
Self inflicted health issue, and humans are not meant to "sit" for extended hours in a pressure vessel. Sad but typical of most Americans.
Heavy D was just a fat pile of sh!t....nothing more...nothing less.
It's not only obese people. I knew a guy who traveled for business a lot and had a stroke after a flight while checking in for his rental car.
Besides moving around during flight, I always take two aspirin before traveling by air. Aspirin is a blood thinner and will help prevent blood clots (it's why many folks take aspirin as a stroke preventative).
No, it underlines the hazards of being fat, out of shape and drunk.
Not quite fair. The same thing can happen to someone who is slender and considered "in shape". If your blood is too thick, flying can exacerbate the problem.
Get a clue and stop being so nasty.
One wonders if you, sir, are in superb shape and never touch a drop. Somehow, I doubt it.
agreed with bat
being overweight is only one risk factor of many
and if anything, i suspect that alcohol would probably lessen the chance of a dvt, not increase it
That's why you never see a drunk fall dead off a bar stool...unless, of course, he's been shot.
wow, Linda and Mathuin have really gotten all the fat peoples blood pressure up!!! Isn't that another risk factor!!! (just kidding, I could loose a few pounds) Happy New Year Everybody!! My condolences to his family and can we all lighten up a bit.
The advice given is almost silly, "get up and walk around. ask for an aisle seat, wriggle your feet." Getting up and walking around enough to do any good is almost impossible in flight, and only every third seat is an aisle seat. Wriggling your feet doesn't do much except maybe get you some strange looks. What does help: Wear compression socks- medical supply stores, travel catalogs, and uniform stores have them. Stay as hydrated as toileting options allow. Pump your calves like you're rocking in a rocking chair (this may get some strange looks,too, but at least it works.) If you notice a "hot", swollen, or tender calf after a long flight, get thee to an urgent care center or notify your primary care provider right away-pulmonary emboli can kill very quickly.
absolutely excellent advice!
Sad to see the judgmental comments here. The article clearly stated the risk factors include things like pregnancy (which causes changes in your blood clotting), birth control, lack of movement, etc. Many people are overweight for many reasons but don't get a blood clot. In-shape people can get blood clots due to flying. Judging is cruel and bad karma! Wearing compression socks, having an aisle seat, drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, walking the aisles every 1-2 hours, and taking aspirin prior to flight (if approved by your doctor) is all good advice.
losing that excess weight is good advice too, for many more reasons than just DVT
Makecents--and, how do you propose that people lose "that excess weight"? Yes, one can go on a starvation diet, but such diets only result in a wrecked metabolism and yo-yo weight gain. Yes, one could eat "healthier foods"--if one could afford it. Yes, one could get a job at a gym so that one was continuously around exercise equipment, but how many people want to work for minimum wage in a gym and how many such jobs are available?
Most jobs these days entail sitting for long periods of time. Most inexpensive food that is easy for a working person to prepare is high in carbohydrates as well as empty calories. Most "diets" do not work. This is why 80% of the people who "lose that excess weight" simply regain it--a situation that is worse than not having lost it in the first place.
People who make trite comments like this generally think that if a person decreases his or her calorie intake, that s/he will magically return to his/her "ideal weight" and will stay there. Try reading some medical journals--this does not happen. If a person has the "thrifty gene" (which this person, being African American, almost certainly had), one has to eat far less than a person without that gene. Once a person has put on weight, the fat cells one has gained do not go away--they simply go dormant and wait for any stray calorie to which they can attach. If a person is taking any one of a number of medications, weight loss is not only virtually impossible, but weight gain is almost inevitable.
Human beings are not cars. There is no magical "calories in/calories out" formula that is the same for all people--and some people are just doomed to gain weight if they have a typical desk job and cannot afford to have salmon, fresh greens, and other non-processed foods.
And, spare me the bunk about eating beans and rice. Have yourself tested to find out that you are a person who cannot taste your food if you don't feel revulsion at the idea of eating nothing but beans and rice with little more than a few herbs to season it day in and day out for the rest of your natural life.
In Dickens's day, the equivalent food was called "gruel." It has not improved in the 100+ years since Dickens passed away, though it is still quite non-fattening. Give it a shot, Makecents--eat it every day for a year. I'm sure you will be very thin--though anemic and with other health and mental problems--but very thin indeed:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of groats or oatmeal
2 tablespoons of cold water
1 pint of boiling water
Cooking Instructions
First put the oats, together with the cold water, into a saucepan and mix together until smooth. Then, over this, stirring all the time, pour one pint of boiling water. Now stirring frequently boil for 10 minutes. Serve.
This kind of thing can happen to anyone. Tara Lipinski, an Olympic Gold Medal athlete, had this happen to her. While being overweight may be a contributing factor in some of these incidents, I don't think the blame can be placed on any one thing in particular.
I do have a question about the advice of "getting up and walking around," though. Just how many airlines are going to allow this sort of thing without becoming suspicious? Lately when flying, the atmosphere is much more conducive to, "sit down, be quiet, eat your peanuts and get out of the way of the drink cart."
I had (and still have) a DVT in my leg, from my groin to my ankle which is considered "massive" according to many doctors. I'm not overweight, I'm in good shape and it had nothing to do with flying. I tore a plantaris muscle in my calf, wore a velcro cast for 1 week and the DVT developed. I was in the hospital for 1 week and a bunch of tests were run and they discovered I had Factor V (5) Leiden which is a blood disorder that contributed to the blood clot. Now I have to do physical therapy 3 times a week for the rest of my life. I was very active prior to this and now my whole life has been turned upside down. Thank God my blood clot was in a duplicated vein in my leg, otherwise I would have lost my leg. I was 44 yrs old at the time, in good shape, eating healthy, getting exercise, etc. One lesson I certainly learned was that things can change in an instant!! I went to bed the prior night feeling ok and the next morning BAM....everything changed, and for the rest of my life. Genetic makeup can affect you even if you're doing all the right things. One word of advice: enjoy life and live it to the fullest, you never know what's around the corner. Even though I have difficult days, I get up every morning and "put on my little happy hat" smile, and get through the day!!
The advice to wear compression socks is absolutely correct. I always wear them on long flights.
Heck if you get up and stretch on a flight they suspect you of being a terrorist. I guess people will just have to keep getting blood clots in order to keep the skies safe.
The last time I flew I had to sit next to an obese, sweaty woman who smelled so yeah obesity is gross.....
@Pup1. So is rudeness...
@Linda, you are a hateful person. I'd rather be anyone other than your hateful, mean spirited self. PFFT
and BTW, dumbars Linda, small people have died from that too, ALSO, in the hospital they ALWAYS put special socks on people BIG AND LITTLE.
It's good you folks keep up on the interwebz health blogs or whatever.The real story is that an "artist" of rap/hip hop suckers enough people that don't know what art IS to make him rich enough to live in Beverly Hills.
As someone with a heart murmur; whose feet and hands are frequently cold because my circulation is not the best even when not flying, my doctor recommended that I wear compression socks when flying to avoid developing a dvt. I am always surprised at the amount of hate that is spewed anonymously on forums. If you are unhappy with your life find what makes you happy and stop hating on others. Just remember that death finds us all and the end results are the same - you are dead. Thus, I live everyday to the fullest. May Heavy D rest in peace.
Dee_in_DC,
Thank you for your comment.
Good Karma to you and Happy New Year!
all a Spade a Spade it's not Obeese it's FAT
NO... it's inflammatory and reported.
As always the conversations start off sooo sympathetic and kind ... then... oh, ohooo. Anyway, I have struggled with my weight for decades, and one thing is certain. Lose the fat, and you look better. Lose the fat, and you feel better. Lose the fat, and you are better...Well that's 3 things, never was any good at math.
@pained1. TACKY!!!
What about people who are seated for hours at a time at work?
auntydale,
I have worked in several "cube farms" in my life. Its quite different from being packed in like sardines. As well as-lots and lots more legroom, people who work in a call center tend to find ways to twitch, move their feet around, and move about the building quite a bit more. I am more concerned about dealing with the TSA than I am about DVT. That has kept me from flying for a while.
I know a guy who is thin as a rail and in great shape...but he had to have screens put in his leg veins because he has a blood condition that makes clots like crazy..he is also on blood thinners...pops them like candy.
I've read a few of the posts and I suppose all factors can be considered and have some merit. The one that made me think deeper was the deceased who was not overweight etc, was an extensive traveler but died anyway. Could we consider a few more factors like air quality on planes as well as individual seat space? I mean, do they really have to stuff us in the way they do? Maybe these and all the others factors just add up to overstress an already stressed body. We are all more frail than we all like to think.