Commercial Air Travel and In-Flight Pulmonary Hypertension

Healthy passengers may experience hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and increased pulmonary artery pressure during commercial flights. Although this reaction is usually modest, some passengers may be at risk of developing potentially dangerous flight-induced pulmonary hypertension. This study investigates if a susceptible passenger can develop pulmonary hypertension in response to a routine commercial flight. The subject was generally healthy and had frequently traveled by air, but had been diagnosed with a genetic condition that is associated with increased hypoxic pulmonary vasoreactivity. The subject was studied using in-flight echocardiography during a 6-h flight. Hematocrit had been normalized with regular venesection. Findings showed that arterial oxygen saturation fell to a minimum of 96%. Systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) rapidly increased into the pulmonary hypertensive range, with an in-flight increase in sPAP of 50% and reaching a peak of 45 mmHg. These results demonstrate that a passenger can rapidly develop in-flight pulmonary hypertension, and that susceptible individuals should be evaluated preflight and/or consider the use of in-flight supplementary oxygen.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3357/ASEM.3451.2013
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00956562
• Authors:
  • Smith, Thomas G
  • Chang, Rae W
  • Robbins, Peter A
  • Dorrington, Keith L
• Publication Date: 2013-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 65-67
• Serial:
  • Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
  • Volume: 84
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Aerospace Medical Association
  • ISSN: 0095-6562
  • Serial URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air travel; Altitude; Diseases and medical conditions; Hypertension; Hypoxia
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01483427
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 7 2013 1:19PM