(CNN) -- The death of a passenger last week aboard an American Airlines flight underscores the importance of taking precautions before flying, a travel health industry representative said Monday.



An American Airlines passenger complaining that she was having trouble breathing died on a flight last week.



Jill Drake, a marketing representative for MedAire, Inc., said its physicians last year advised 74 airlines on how to handle more than 17,000 in-flight medical events.



Flight attendants with sick passengers call Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, a level-one trauma center where emergency room physicians and a service able to translate 140 languages are on call to answer questions from any of 2 million airline passengers flying at any given time, she said.



"Very rarely" does the call result in a diversion, a decision made not by the doctor but by the pilot who must consider a number of variables beyond the passenger's health, she said. The pilot must weigh weather conditions, remaining fuel and proximity to an airport.



As of 1 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) Monday, MedAire had fielded 110 calls, "which is a very busy day for us," she said. On average, the company gets about 50 in-flight calls from commercial airliners for an entire day, and an additional 25 or 30 calls related to events that occur at airport gates or aboard yachts and commercial ships, she said.



Airlines contracting with MedAire include Continental, Southwest and British Airways. American has its own in-house medical team.



Drake said MedAire's doctors documented 97 onboard deaths in 2007, down from 110 in 2006.



The top categories of in-flight illness are fainting, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory issues such as shortness of breath, heart problems ranging from arrhythmias to arrest and orthopedic problems, such as broken bones, Drake said.



By law, U.S.-based commercial airlines must carry automatic external defibrillators, oxygen and medical kits. Some airlines choose to carry extra, non-mandated medications.



If a passenger already has breathing problems, airplane travel will only worsen the condition because cabins are typically pressurized at 8,000 feet, said Drake.



Her advice to anyone not feeling 100 percent: "Do not travel."



And anyone with a medical condition who travels should pack any critical medications in a carry-on bag, she said.



Though flight attendants are trained to handle on-board emergencies, "they are not medically trained," she said. "To think that they are going to be able to assist your every need, that's quite a high expectation."



Hydration and moderation are key, and passengers should carry water and a snack, she said. Vacationers often return home from tropical locales sunburned and, in some cases, drunk.



"Altitude amplifies the buzz," Drake said. "You have a couple of cocktails in Denver, you feel it a little bit more than in Omaha."



Denver's altitude is 5,280 feet; Omaha's is 1,040 feet.



Flying in a fresh cast can also prove dangerous. "Your arm could expand and it could cut off your circulation," she said, noting that the risk is reduced with older casts, which have typically already expanded to accommodate any swelling.



Though the FAA began demanding that airlines carry certain medications more than 30 years ago, the list was tiny.



During the 1990s, overseas airlines began carrying more sophisticated equipment, and pressure increased for U.S.-based airlines to follow, said Dr. Russell Rayman, executive director of the Aerospace Medical Association, which has roughly 3,000 members including physicians, research scientists and flight nurses.



Congress held hearings and then required airlines carry more robust kits and defibrillators by 2004.



American Airlines was among the first to do so, said Dr. David McKenas, who served for 10 years as the airline's corporate medical director until 2002.



He lauded the defibrillator as "so good it's like 100 cardiologists in a box." The machine will only work if the patient's heart is fibrillating, a condition where the contractions become so irregular it loses its ability to pump blood efficiently.
What did the passenger on an American Airlines flight die from? Whether to divert a flight due to passenger illness is decided by whom? The hospital had what type of staff? A passenger died on what flight last week? where A passenger died?
she was having trouble breathing the pilot emergency room physicians and a service able to translate 140 languages An American Airlines American Airlines flight
question: What did the passenger on an American Airlines flight die from?, answer: she was having trouble breathing | question: Whether to divert a flight due to passenger illness is decided by whom?, answer: the pilot | question: The hospital had what type of staff?, answer: emergency room physicians and a service able to translate 140 languages | question: A passenger died on what flight last week?, answer: An American Airlines | question: where A passenger died?, answer: American Airlines flight