Addiction to TV increases the risk of blood clots, clogging veins

A review of a new study shows that binge-watching your favorite movie is bad for blood circulation.

The study also found that people who regularly watch TV for four or more hours a day are much more likely to develop blood clots, which can lead to serious health problems and even death. death. In particular, this increased risk was seen independently of other important factors such as a person's physical activity level.

Blood clotting, venous congestion is a dangerous condition

This condition is called venous thromboembolism (VTE), a blockage in a vein caused by a blood clot. One of the most common forms of VTE is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), when these blood clots get stuck in the deepest veins of the body, often along the legs or pelvis, sometimes in the arms. our. Blood clots in a deep vein thrombosis cause acute swelling or pain, but some people may not experience any symptoms. However, this blockage can damage the venous valves, which, if left untreated, can lead to long-term complications such as chronic pain, swelling, and ulcers.

These blood clots can also dislodge from their original location clogging our pulmonary arteries, causing a life-threatening condition known as a pulmonary embolism. An estimated nearly one million people in the United States may develop DVT each year, and up to 100,000 Americans die annually from the combination of DVT and pulmonary embolism.

Watching too much TV can also be a potential factor in causing VTE.

Common risk factors for VTE include age, venous injuries, and existing medical conditions such as heart disease. However, staying in one place for too long also increases the risk, which is common in people who are comatose or bedridden for long periods of time. So it's not surprising that studies suggest that watching too much TV can also be a potential factor in causing VTE.

Watching too much TV increases the risk of VTE

The study's lead author Setor Kunutsor, along with his team, looked for the best prevention measures for cardiovascular problems like VTE. Therefore, they need to better understand the relationship between TV viewing and VTE by specific analysis. They analyzed previous observational data on the association between TV viewing and VTE, who were diagnosed without VTE at the start of the study. Their health was followed for several years, even as long as 20 years, and surveyed about their lifestyle habits, including their daily TV viewing time.

About 1,000 people were diagnosed with VTE at some point during the study period. Study subjects who watched TV for a long time - an average of about 4 hours per day - had a 35% higher risk of developing VTE than those who never or rarely watched TV.

The authors also note that this type of study is only intended to show a correlation between TV viewing and VTE, and add that further research is needed to clarify how prolonged TV is harmful to their veins. ta. This association is clear even when other factors that may increase or decrease the risk of VTE are taken into account, it provides further evidence to support the idea that lying down for too long watching TV is actually dangerous. .

In an email, Setor Kunutsor wrote, "Age, sex, body mass index and physical activity are all strongly associated with VTE risk, but our observations suggest the relationship between viewing TV and VTE risk cannot be explained by these factors."

Be physically active more often

Long-term sedentary behavior is clearly the most likely explanation for why binge-watching TV can increase the risk of VTE, and we already know that watching TV is associated with heart disease for the same reason. However, someone's diet while watching a lot of TV can be inherently unhealthy, leading to other worse conditions like high blood pressure that add to that risk.

For people who are in good shape, watching too much TV can still lead to blood clots, but that doesn't mean physical activity is useless. Kunutsor and his team previously found that exercise has a protective effect in preventing VTE, even regardless of your BMI. So you always have a chance to reduce your risk of VTE by making regular time to stay physically active,

Even if you're watching a hot romantic movie, don't get too hung up on it, take a break in between, get up and stretch every 30 minutes. This not only applies to watching TV, but also very useful for people who have to sit for long hours at work.