Did You Know?..Asthma
- Asthma is an ongoing disease caused by inflammation of the airways, making it difficult to breathe. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest tightening, coughing and wheezing.
- In children or infants, other symptoms may indicate they have asthma, such as rapid or noisy breathing, chest congestion or grunting when nursing, complaints that their chest hurts or “feels funny”, or fatigue or irritability.
- Approximately 20 million Americans suffer from asthma; 5 million of them are children.
- Asthma is the #1 cause of school absenteeism, accounting for more than 14 million days of missed school. It is the most common chronic disease and the third ranking cause of hospitalization among kids.
- 11 Americans die from asthma every day. There are more than 4,000 deaths per year from the disease, many of which are preventable with proper diagnosis and treatment. Asthma is cited as a “contributing factor” for nearly 7,000 other deaths each year.
- African Americans are 3 times more likely to be hospitalized and 3 times more likely to die from asthma.
- If you are overweight or obese, your odds of developing asthma are 50% greater than if you maintain a healthy body weight.
- Over 50% of asthma cases are “allergic asthma.” Common allergens that can trigger asthma include animal fur, pollen, mold, cockroaches, cigarette smoke and household dust.
- The annual cost of asthma is nearly 18 billion dollars.
- Asthma runs in families: if only one parent has asthma, chances are 1 in 3 that each child will have asthma. If two parents have asthma, there is a 70% chance their children will have the disease too.
- With proper disease diagnosis and management, people with asthma can live normal, active lives.
