A new study shows that tall and obese people have a higher risk of developing blood clots.
May 2, 2011- New research from Norway, published last week claims that the tall and obese, more so men than women, have a much higher risk of blood clots (deep vein). Pulmonary embolism is when part of a blood clot breaks off and travels to the lungs and cause strain on the heart and at times sudden death. Deep Vein blood clots are extra dangerous because they often times lead to pulmonary embolism.
The legs are where most of the deep vein blood clots can occur in obese people and the research says that adding to that risk is being tall as well. The study even indicated that tall men with normal weight had a higher risk factor that short men of normal weight, but it was not as high as men that were both tall and obese.
The American Heart Association says maintaining a good healthy weight is the best way to reduce risk for tall men. Taller women had a somewhat similar pattern but for the most part women do not get extremely tall or there is not a significant number to research, like there is in men. Therefore, the researchers found it harder to asses the risk.
The researchers have also found in previous studies the same similarity in American men and think that this is likely to be the same for Caucasians regardless of where they reside. Over 275,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. annually with pulmonary embolisms or deep vein blood clots.
