RIYADH, 3 October — A multinational company has launched a major initiative for creating awareness in the Kingdom and other Gulf states on DVT (deep vein thrombosis), to which economy class passengers with cardiac problems are particularly susceptible.

“We have held seminars in Jeddah and Riyadh and in the UAE and Kuwait to educate the people on what could become a killer clot if it breaks free and gets lodged in the blood vessels of the lung. Such a condition, known as pulmonary emboli or PE, can be life threatening if left untreated,” Mohammed Imran, country manager of Aventis Pharma told Arab News.

He said it is the first time that they were organizing the seminar on a problem that is growing. To this end, the company has decided to launch a continuing medical education program in the Kingdom in association with medical faculties and societies.

He was speaking at a seminar at which Dr. Alexander Turpie, professor of medicine, McMaster University, Canada, spoke on the medical advances in the treatment of DVT and its prevention on prolonged commercial airline flights.

The seminars in the Gulf states coincided with the World Heart Day, with the theme of the presentations on thrombo-embolic diseases.

DVT is popularly known as the economy-class syndrome, since it affects economy class passengers who travel in cramped conditions with inadequate leg room. Those who do not lead an active lifestyle and have a high cholesterol level are at risk of being bowled over by the killer clot.

DVT, according to Imran, is more common among the elderly and the overweight, “but healthy young people can develop it as well. Some people are not born with vital blood thinning substances and are, therefore, always more susceptible to blood clots.” He said Avantis has launched a new product on the market that treats patients with heart and pulmonary conditions, for the prevention and treatment of DVT without creating any side-effect.

“It is important to remember that the best medicine for ensuring a healthy life is an active lifestyle. But sometimes that isn’t enough and, in these cases, we have to turn to medicine,” he observed.

An estimated 50 percent of the deaths in the Kingdom, according to Prof. Mansour Nuzha, chairman of Saudi Cardiology Association, are caused by heart diseases, and the percentage is growing. Smoking, hypertension, junk food and diabetes are believed to be the main causes of heart attacks.