Causes of Deep vein thrombosis

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The risk of DVT and PE is greater in people;

over 40 years of age,
who have had blood clots already,
with a family history of blood clots,
suffering from or who have had treatment for cancer,
with certain blood diseases,
being treated for heart failure and circulation problems,
who have had recent surgery especially on the hips or knees; or;
who have an inherited clotting tendency.

DVT is also more common in women who;

are pregnant,
have recently had a baby,
are taking the contraceptive pill, or,
are on hormone replacement therapy or HRT.

These groups make up 90 to 95% of all those who get DVT and/or PE.

Deep vein thrombosis can occur in normal veins for no obvious reason, and has been linked with people who are immobile for long periods of time.

There is some evidence that long-haul flights, especially when passengers have little or no exercise, may increase the risk of developing DVT. Information on the proportion of people who develop DVT related to air travel is limited, but the experts suggest this is small. Also, it is not easy to decide whether the flight itself caused the DVT or whether people were at risk for other reasons.

While it is difficult to be certain what the exact causes of travel-related DVT are, experts agree that lack of exercise or immobility are major underlying risks. They have also identified that people at increased risk of DVT/PE in general are those more likely to develop travel-related DVT/PE.