New Scientist: Computer user suffers "eThrombosis"

Via New Scientist:

A team led by Richard Beasley of the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in New Zealand identified a 32-year-old man who lost consciousness a few weeks after suffering a swollen calf. The cause was found to be a massive clot that had formed in a vein in his leg and travelled to his lungs – a pulmonary embolism.

The team found no obvious risk factors for the clot, except that the man would regularly work for 12 hours a day at his computer and often not stand up for hours.

This is the first reported case of an association between prolonged immobility at a computer and a life-threatening embolism, says the researchers, who suggest the condition should be called “eThrombosis”.

The full text of the report is available via the New Scientist website.