On February 19, Guangzhou** reported that "I returned to Dongguan after 40 hours by car, and I was sent to the ICU with a pulmonary embolism as soon as I got out of the car!" It has attracted widespread attention from the society and brought the seemingly unfamiliar disease of "economy class syndrome" into the public eye. Recently, on the way back to work after the Spring Festival holiday, there were many patients with acute pulmonary embolism caused by long-term car sitting, and three people unfortunately died, and the continuous driving time was 20 to 30 hours. This condition is often referred to as "economy class syndrome", and pulmonary embolism is characterized by high morbidity, high disability, and high mortality.
What is "economy class syndrome"?
"Economy Class Syndrome" is a foreign word, and we should call it "Sedentary Syndrome". European and American countries generally choose airplanes as a means of transportation, so this kind of sedentary mostly occurs on airplanes, while domestic airplanes are basically 2-3 hours short-distance, more long-term bus or train travel, and in the news, workers choose to sit in buses for a long time because of saving, and in order not to go to the toilet frequently and rarely drink water, blood is more likely to coagulate and thrombosis, which further aggravates the risk.
Why is the mortality rate of acute pulmonary embolism high
Among the three most common causes of vascular disease death, acute pulmonary embolism is second only to coronary heart disease and stroke. Because of the sudden onset and insidiousness, the sudden death rate is high, and it is often called the "silent killer" who is dangerous and abnormal. A pulmonary embolism is when an artery in the lungs and its branches is blocked by material from another part of the body, such as a blood clot, tumor, air, or fat. Thromboembolism is the most common type of pulmonary embolism, so pulmonary embolism usually refers to pulmonary thromboembolism. The thrombus that causes pulmonary embolism is mainly in the deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities (DVT), and the blockage of the pulmonary artery along the bloodstream after the thrombus falls off is pulmonary embolism, so DVT and PE are essentially manifestations of the same disease process at different sites and stages, and the two are collectively called venous thromboembolism (VTE).
Which groups of people need to be aware of "economy class syndrome".
Pulmonary embolism can occur at any age, patients who are bedridden, fractured, after joint replacement, after surgery (especially abdominal surgery), cancer patients, patients with deep vein thrombosis or varicose veins of the lower limbs, advanced age, obesity, pregnancy, etc. are all high-risk groups, and now more and more long-term oral drug avoidance patients are joining the ranks. Prolonged car rides in the news undoubtedly increase the chance of occurrence and are insidious, as they can happen during long journeys or days or even weeks after the end of the trip.
How to prevent "economy class syndrome".
In fact, when I first saw the name "economy class syndrome", I thought it meant that I would only get it when I took the economy class of the plane, but in fact, it did not mean that there would be a risk of pulmonary embolism if I sat for a long time. The way to sit soon is to travel long distances or play mahjong, office and the like when you try to stand up and walk around as often as possible, it is best to keep moving for half an hour, if you can't do it, you can also bend your ankles to activate the calf muscles enough to push blood through the veins. Drink as much water as possible, and seek medical attention as soon as possible if you have chest tightness, shortness of breath and other uncomfortable symptoms.