The preliminary autopsy report is that Billy Mays died of a pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot traveling up from the legs to the heart and lungs. Billy Mays, most commonly known for his OxyClean infomercials, died at the age of 50 following a 2.5 hour flight from Philadelphia to Tampa on 6-29-09. May's death occurred during a break in the filming of his newest show, Pitch Men, and came as an unexpected shock to many. While many are unaware of the potential fatality of pulmonary emboli, approximately 30% of all emboli which dislodge and travel to the heart and lungs result in sudden death. Although pulmonary embolism is relatively rare, it occurs in approximately 149 out of 100,000 people a year. Billy May's death illustrates many important risk factors for developing blood clots and subsequent pulmonary emboli.

May's death illustrates one of the most important and preventable risk factors for pulmonary emboli, air travel. Due to the prolonged sitting in a confined space where movement is severely limited, air travel significantly increases the risk of clot formation. We have long suspected this to be an important risk factor, and for the first time, research published in The Annals of Internal Medicine this week [7-07-09] showed that prolonged air travel longer than 2 hours triples one's risk of pulmonary embolism.

Harvard researchers announced that, "For each two-hour increase in air travel time…the risk of developing a clot…increased 26 percent,". These results are based on a review of 14 previous studies including 4,055 cases, making this study of the association between long travel and blood clots the largest and most comprehensive one to date.

Other factors that played a role in the death of Billy Mays include age, with risk increasing significantly after age 50, turbulent flights, which prohibit movement during air travel and an enlarged heart, which is associated with decreased cardiovascular flow.

Approximately 100,000-300,000 people die annually from pulmonary embolism, all of which are preventable. Because pulmonary emboli start as blood clots in the legs, and if they are detected early with a simple ultrasound test, they can be treated with blood thinners, preventing serious complications and death.

Further studies conducted by Darius Mozaffarian, predict, "Given that by 2010 an estimated 2.5 billion passengers across the globe will be traveling by air alone, the researchers noted that any connection between risk of deep vein thrombosis and travel could have an impact on a vast segment of the population". It stands to reason that walking around during long travel and hydrating may reduce this risk, and is recommended for air travel, especially those lasting over 2 hours.

Though tragic and unexpected, Billy May's death brings to light an increasingly common and often overlooked risk factor for pulmonary embolism. Increased awareness and prevention as a result of his passing may help prevent other unexpected and premature deaths. T. Wright, P. Kennedy. LaserLipoandVeins.com