Flight Microangiopathy on Long-Haul Flights: Prevention of Edema and Microcirculation Alterations with Venoruton

Summary: The aim of this study was the evaluation of the effects of Venoruton (HR) on the prevention and control of flight microan-giopathy and edema in subjects with varicose veins flying for more than 7 hours. A group of 80 patients with varicose veins, edema, and initial skin alterations due to chronic venous hypertension were in-cluded. Measurements of skin laser Doppler (LDF) resting flux (RF), Po2 and rate of ankle swelling (RAS), were made before and after the flights (within 2 hours before the flights and within 2 hours after the flights). The length of the flights was between 7 and 9 hours; all seats were in coach class. The two groups (treatment and control) were comparable for age and sex distribution. The variation (decrease) in PO2 was significant in both groups. In subjects treated with HR the decrease in Po2 was smaller (p<0.05). The decrease in LDF-RF was Long-haul flights are associated with increas-ing edema, proportional to the hours spent in the aircraft, caused by increased capillary filtration, decreased external pressure in the cabin, and to other factors, such as restricted spaces and mo-bility, and altered fluid balance during flights (1-11). These physiological changes associated with edema have been defined as flight microan-giopathy (FMA) in previous studies by our group. Recently long-haul flights have been associat-ed with severe vascular problems including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (8-16). However during and after long flights, most normal individuals and subjects with vari-cose veins often complain of increasing swelling Address correspondence and reprint requests to G. Belcaro, MD