TALL PEOPLE AT HIGHER RISK OF DEADLY BLOOD CLOTS

TALL people are more likely to suffer a potentially deadly blood clot, a study has revealed.

Men of 6ft 2in or over are 65 per cent more at risk than those shorter than 5ft 3in, researchers found.

Pregnancy also affects the risk, with 6ft women who are carrying a child for the first time 69 per cent more at risk than those under 5ft 1in.

Swedish scientists studied more than two million siblings for the project and found a direct link between height and venous thromboembolism, where a clot forms in a vein.

Each year about 25,000 people in Britain die from the condition.

The commonest triggers are surgery, cancer, immobilisation and hospitalisation.

It is now the third leading cause of heart attack and stroke. The deadly clots can be treated with injectable drugs that dissolve them or bloodthinning medications. Removal by surgery is another option.

Lead researcher Professor Bengt Zoller, of Lund University in Sweden, said: “The height in the population has increased, and continues increasing, which could be contributing to the fact that the incidence of thrombosis has increased.

“It could just be that because taller individuals have longer leg veins there is more surface area where problems can occur.

“There is also more gravitational pressure in leg veins of taller persons that can increase the risk of blood flow slowing or temporarily stopping.”

The findings were published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics.