Fatal Television

A study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Conference in London warns that long hours of television viewing could be fatal. The study conducted over a period of 18 years tracked 86,000 people wherein it concluded that people glued to television sets for long hours run the risk of suffering from fatal pulmonary embolism.

Pulmonary embolism is caused due to blood clot in the veins of the leg and it is usually characterised by blockage in the artery that carries blood from heart to the lungs. Leg immobility during television viewing is a major cause for pulmonary embolism.

The study conducted by researchers from Osaka University, Japan states that watching television for more than five hours daily is fatal as compared to two and a half hours daily. The risk of pulmonary embolism is higher in the age group of 40 and 59 who watch television for more than five hours daily.

The research funded by the Japanese government looked at 36,007 men and 50,017 women between the age group of 40 and 79. Surprisingly during the study 59 participants died due to pulmonary embolism. Previously relation between long hours of gaming and death due to pulmonary embolism had been established. The study limited itself to only prolonged hours of television watching and did not establish a relationship between pulmonary embolism and prolonged smartphone use.