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Love to Binge-Watch TV? You may be at a Higher Risk for Blood Clots
People who sit and watch TV at least four hours daily have a 35 percent higher chance of getting potentially fatal blood clots than people who watch TV for 2.5 hours or less per day, a new study says.
New Study
The study looked at the health information from three previously published studies of 131,421 adults aged 40 and older with no history of venous thromboembolism, or VTE. The participants self-reported the amount of TV they watched and were labeled as prolonged viewers (watching at least four hours daily) and never seldom viewers (less than 2.5 hours daily).
Over a period of five to 20 years, 964 participants got VTE. The condition includes pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the lungs, as well as deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in the legs that can cause pulmonary embolism.
Those who said they watched TV four or more hours a day were 1.35 times more likely to have VTE than those who watched TV an average of 2.5 hours per day, the study said.
The study was published in the “European Journal of Preventative Cardiology.”
While the study found a link between TV watching and blood clots, that doesn’t prove TV watching causes the blood clots, the researchers stressed. But the link occurred despite age, sex, body mass index, and physical activity.
What is VTE?
VTE refers to a blood clot that starts in a vein. It is the third leading vascular diagnosis after heart attack and stroke, affecting between 300,000 to 600,000 Americans each year. There are two types:
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT): Deep vein thrombosis is a clot in a deep vein, usually in the leg. DVT sometimes affects the arms or other veins.
- Pulmonary embolism (PE): A pulmonary embolism occurs when a DVT clot breaks free from a vein wall, travels to the lungs and then blocks some or all of the blood supply. Blood clots originating in the thigh are more likely to break off and travel to the lungs than blood clots in the lower legs or other parts of the body.
The most common triggers for VTE are surgery, cancer, immobilization, and hospitalization.
What IAA has to Say
Insurance Administrator of America knows that binge watching television is a fun way to past the time. But it is important for your health to get and up and moving too. IAA encourages you to find a balance!
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This entry was posted on February 3rd, 2022 at 01:49:00 pm by BlogMe@iaatpa.net (IAA) and is filed under Blood Clots.