Eating lunch at your desk could increase your risk of DVT

Working at your desk all day without taking a break could double your risk of a blood clot

You might often be too busy at work to take an hour-long lunch break, but working 10-hour days without a break could double your chances of deep vein thrombosis.

Almost 75 per cent of office staff aged 21-30 who work 10-hour days don't get up to take a break. This could double chances of a fatal blood clot.

As lunch breaks increasingly become a thing of the past, ten people a day on average have been dying from DVT.

There has been a rapid rise in the number of DVT victims under 40, with 94 dying in 2010 up 40 per cent from 67 in 2007 according to figures released yesterday.

According to the Office for National Statistics 3,798 people died of DVT in 2010.

Spokesperson for DVT charity Lifeblood, Annya Stephens-Boal, said: 'We all do it, work long hours and grab a sandwich at our desk.

'We believe there are 60,000 DVT cases a year throughout the UK.

'The scariest part is that 80% have no signs at all, no swelling, redness or pain. We call it the silent killer.'

The best way to avoid DVT, which can kill when blood clots move to the lungs, is to keep mobile and eat a low salt, low fat diet.

LATEST HEALTH NEWS