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The risk of venous thrombosis may be increased during aeroplane flights, which may, partly, relate to activation of coagulation by hypoxia that is caused by the reduction of pressure in the aircraft cabin. To find out whether hypoxia activates coagulation, we exposed eight healthy human participants to 8 h of isocapnic hypoxia and 8 h of air as a control. Venous blood was sampled before and after the exposure and analysed for markers of activated coagulation. There were no significant changes. We conclude that hypoxia has no major effect on coagulation in the general population.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13777-4

Type

Journal article

Journal

Lancet

Publication Date

28/06/2003

Volume

361

Pages

2207 - 2208

Keywords

Aerospace Medicine, Air Pressure, Antithrombin III, Blood Coagulation, Humans, Hypoxia, Peptide Fragments, Peptide Hydrolases, Protein Precursors, Prothrombin, Venous Thrombosis