As Britain swelters, doctors are warning of a less visible danger lurking in the heat
When temperatures soar, most Britons start thinking about heat exhaustion and sunburn - but doctors have warned that searing heat also presents a risk to your veins.
The problem boils down to dehydration thickening the blood, which in turn shifts the body towards a clotting-prone state, according to board-certified surgeon James J Chao.
“Slow-moving blood equals sticky blood that’s more likely to clot,” he told GB News. “However, being properly hydrated and moving around every hour is usually enough to prevent clots from forming.”
Sluggish blood is one of three conditions that, when present together, significantly increase the risk of a clot forming - a framework clinicians refer to as Virchow’s Triad.
The other factors are changes in blood consistency and damage to the blood vessels. Unfortunately, dehydration can trigger all three.
Venous surgeon Mark Whiteley notes that “dehydration alone, if severe, can be enough to cause deep vein thrombosis. Virchow's triad shows you only need one of the three factors.”
To avoid problems, Dr Chao advises getting up and walking around, calf flexing every half hour, and drinking 8oz of water per hour.
He continued: “Constrain your legs in a seated position for six hours without moving on an aeroplane and drink less than adequate fluid; then you’ve got stagnant blood pooling in your calf veins.”
What are the symptoms of blood clots?
Upwards of 50 per cent of deep vein thrombosis cases present with no symptoms in the leg. Yet when a fragment breaks off and travels to the lungs, shortness of breath may strike out of nowhere.
Dr Chao says patients may notice “a stabbing chest discomfort during deep breaths," or their heart rate exceeding 100 beats per minute.
“Truth be told, when chest symptoms finally show up, leg symptoms are so non-existent that people tend to shrug off the chest pain. Even 30 minutes can tip the scale," he warned.