Economy class syndrome responsible for 44th quake-related death in Japan's southwest quake

A women in her 50s was pronounced dead in Kumamoto city on Tuesday, bringing fatalities related to last week's Kyushu quakes in Japan's southwest to 44.

The 51-year-old women was the first to have succumbed to what is known colloquially as "economy class syndrome" having spent a prolonged amount of time seeking refuge in her car leading to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and fatal arterial problems in her lungs.

According to local media reports, the victim was taken to hospital and treated for a pulmonary embolism, but didn't respond to the treatment and died shortly after being admitted.

Public broadcaster NHK said that a number of people have being taking refuge in their vehicles since the double quakes ravaged Japan's southwest last week, with the situation compounded by regular and ongoing aftershocks preventing the evacuees from returning to damaged or at-risk homes.

Eighteen people have reportedly been taken to hospital due to economy class syndrome, which can be triggered by spending long periods of time in a confined space where the body's movement and blood flow is restricted.

Under such conditions DVT can occur, often in a deep leg vein that runs through the muscles of the calf and the thigh, causing the swelling of the leg and sometimes leading to pulmonary embolism as a result of a blood clot breaking off into the bloodstream and blocking one of the blood vessels in the lungs.

Of those currently hospitalized with economy class syndrome, two remain unconscious local media said, reporting their situation as being "critical."

When DVT and pulmonary embolism occur together the condition is known medically as venous thromboembolism or VTE. Endit