That's Fit

Want to get a leg up on healthier airplane travel? It's not a bad idea, given the threat of dangerous blood clots -- also known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) -- that comes from extended periods of time spent sitting.

The longer you're airborne and the more you fly in short time frames, the greater your risk for DVT. Fortunately, there's something you can do to prevent this serious condition from striking: Exercise.

Exercising right in your airplane seat will keep your blood circulating properly. Northwest Airlines recommends a whole list of exercises -- ankle turns, knee lifts, shoulder circles, knee bends and more -- and you can access them right here. Take a peek, jot them down, and pack them in your carry-on bag. They'll surely come in handy next time you fly the friendly skies.

The first large-scale study comparing heart bypass surgery and stents has some conclusive results that may deter people from using those mesh cylinders so often. Death rates and heart attacks were lower among people who have had the more severe treatment, heart bypass.

That can be disheartening due to how prevalent the other treatment option is. After all, 1.2 million angioplasties were done in 2005. Compare that to less than half a million heart bypass operations the same year. But this isn't the first study to conclude that stents come up short.

A similar comparison was made several years ago, but it had to do with the metal variety as opposed to the newer drug-coated mesh stents now used today. Both results are clear: heart bypass is better for you considering multiple clots. When you think about how undergoing either one of these could save a life, it becomes obvious how important prevention is with heart health!

Those who travel long distances on airplanes risk developing fatal blood clots in their legs. The clots, termed Deep-Vein Thrombosis, can be fatal if they break off and travel to the heart or lungs. It's not only travelers who risk this condition, though. A new study out of New Zealand reports that those who work so hard they rarely take a break are at risk too.

This study of 62 patients hospitalized for dangerous blood clots revealed that 21 percent had been on long flights while 34 percent had spent long hours at their desks the previous month. "Long hours" means the workers had been at their desks for more than eight hours per day, with a three-hour period void of any standing. It also includes 12-hour days with one hour void of movement.

Good news. Blood clots can be prevented, by the very thing that keeps our bodies healthy in so many other ways: Stretching. All it takes is getting up and giving your legs a solid stretch every 30 to 60 minutes.

Are you sitting down right now? Well, get up. And give those legs a good stretch.

Good news for women seeking help with their menopause symptoms, but are leery of all the risks associated with taking pills: the French recently published a study that shows hormone patches and hormones gels are less likely than oral medications to cause blood clots.

This comes after scary news back in 2002 that many hormone replacements for women drastically increased the risk of stroke and clots. This latest information not only shows that the method of delivery may play a factor in side-effects, but most likely the dosage as well.