History of cerebral vein thrombosis and air travel

Should a patient with a history of cerebral vein thrombosis travel by plane? What if the patient is currently not on anticoagulants?

Jeffrey Weitz: If the patient is on anticoagulants and they are doing well, I do not see any reason why they could not continue to fly.

If they have had a prior history of cerebral vein thrombosis and they have been anticoagulated for 3 months or 6 months, their computed tomography (CT) venogram or magnetic resonance (MR) venogram shows recanalization, and their clot was associated with hormonal therapy or pregnancy – which a lot of them are – I think that the risk of recurrence is low. I would not hesitate to tell them to fly, and probably would not give them prophylaxis.