Traveling Safely with Heart Disease

As the pandemic emergency wanes and travel surges, many older adults are again heading to far-off destinations. Do you wonder if it’s safe to do such travel if you have heart disease? Preventive cardiologist Ashish Sarraju, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic says if your condition is stable with no recent hospitalizations, you’re probably going to be fine, but discuss it with your doctor to be sure. If and when you do travel, Dr. Sarraju advises some extra advance planning. Do a little research and choose destinations with good reputations for health care and treatment. Bring with you some basic medical records such as your medications and dosages and prior heart procedures. It would be wise to have a photo of your baseline ECG. Take enough of your meds to cover your stay plus at least several extra days—and keep them in your carryon, never in your checked baggage. Consult with your doctor ahead of time about how to handle when to take your meds if you are changing multiple time zones. Lastly, remember that sitting for extended periods of time increases risk of blood clots, so get up and move around every couple of hours when that is possible and/or contract and relax your calves occasionally while seated. Also stay hydrated. One final fiscal note: Should you suffer a serious heart event, especially if you’re in a remote area, it’s possible an air ambulance evac might be needed, costing thousands of dollars. You might want to consider buying insurance to cover such a contingency.