Expert warning as common airport habit could prove fatal

For many Brits, enjoying an alcoholic drink before catching a flight marks the official start to the holiday. No matter how early in the day it’s common to see the airport pubs buzzing with people.

While there’s usually nothing wrong with having a small tipple every now and then, enjoying one before a flight could be particularly deadly.

New research has found that drinking alcohol before falling asleep on a plane puts such strain on the heart that it could be fatal.

Scientists discovered that this combination lowers the amount of oxygen in travellers' blood and raises the heart rate - even in those who are young and healthy.

And the more alcohol consumed, the worse the effects could be, with older passengers and those with medical conditions at greater risk.

The team has urged people to therefore avoid drinking before and on flights, also suggesting that on-board access to alcohol should be limited.

The academics suggested that it may be time to consider limiting on-board access to alcohol, particularly on long-haul flights.

As reported by the MailOnline, Dr Eva-Maria Elmenhorst - from the German Aerospace Centre in Cologne, explained: “The situation might be different for passengers with pre-existing medical conditions.

“Their oxygen saturation might be low to begin with and then drop to even lower levels. So medical conditions might exacerbate leading to in-flight medical emergencies.

“I would advise people with heart or lung conditions to avoid drinking alcohol on planes.”

As part of the study, which has been published in the medical journal Thorax, the team recruited 48 people aged 18 to 40.

They monitored them as half the group slept in a laboratory with normal air pressure and the others in an altitude chamber, which mimicked the cabin pressure of a plane at cruising height.

Prior to this each group had been divided with one half drinking the equivalent of two cans of beer or two glasses of wine while the other half had no alcohol.

They slept for four hours in the laboratory conditions. Those who slept in normal conditions with no alcohol were recorded as having steady blood oxygen levels at around a healthy 96 percent with a sleeping heart rate of 64 beats per minute (bpm).

However, those who drank and were in the altitude chamber had a fall in blood oxygen levels to an average 85 percent and their heart rates typically rose to nearly 88bmp during sleep.

People in the altitude chamber who had no alcohol recorded an average blood oxygen level of 88 percent and a sleeping heart rate of 73bpm.

In typical conditions, oxygen levels are considered abnormal when they drop below 90 percent and dangerous below 80 percent.

Low blood oxygen can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, fast or pounding heartbeat and confusion. And in prolonged cases it can even lead to organ damage.

While sleeping a healthy heart rate is considered between 50 to 70bpm. This could be especially deadly to those who already have heart issues.

The team concluded in the study: “Together these results indicate that, even in young and healthy individuals, the combination of alcohol intake with sleeping under hypobaric conditions (cabin pressure) poses a considerable strain on the cardiac system and might lead to exacerbation of symptoms in patients with cardiac or pulmonary diseases.”

They added: “Cardiovascular symptoms have a prevalence of seven percent of inflight medical emergencies, with cardiac arrest causing 58 percent of aircraft diversions.”

However, it is important to note that the study participants slept lying down so the findings may differ for those who fly economy, the report said.