I've been looking into traveling to Europe from Canada sometime in the next couple of years and I am wondering if it will be safe to fly that far of a distance? I had an embolization for my AVM when I was a baby in 1992 and most of it is fixed but there are still some ventricles that are not closed up because they're too small and too risky as of right now. Will this make a difference?
The safe answer is it depends. Best to ask your AVM dr.
Most airliners today pressurize their planes to the equivalent of 8,000 ft. Newer planes go even lower, like to 5,000 ft. What this means is riding in the plane 'feels like' being at 8,000 or 5,000 ft elevation. That poses some potential risk to AVMers. A rare cabin sudden depressurization could have you experiencing higher elevations, until the plane re-pressurized or it got to 6-10,000 ft. I've flown a lot over my career and I've NEVER been on an airliner that depressurized. Some of the older jets didn't control their pressure as well on descents, but doubt that is an issue now.
If you regularly go to 5-8,000 ft in mountains with no issues, flying wouldn't be much riskier in my opinion--but ask your Dr.
Ron, KS
As Ron mentioned…talk to your doctor. It never hurts to ask questions. After my AVM bled I asked if my job as a Flight Attendant caused the problem…I was told no it did not. However, that was a long time ago.
As far as a rapid decompression goes…The pilots are going to drop to a lower altitude as fast as possible. We no longer have oxygen masks in the lavs due to terrorism threats. And yes I am still actively working as a Flight Attendant.