Heightened neurological risk at high altitude
20th May 2011
By Staff writer
AIR travel can trigger neurological events, including among patients with a history of carotid stenosis, researchers warn.
Their study analysed 77 neurological cases among passengers experiencing either an in-flight medical emergency, or one that occurred after landing, who were transported from a Madrid airport to hospital over almost two years.
The patients were usually middle-aged men (76.6% male, mean age of 45.9 years).
Symptom onset occurred during the flight in a minority of cases (41.3%). Most fell ill soon after their plane had landed.
Just over one-half had a seizure (39 patients), almost