World Asthma Day Highlights Urgent Need for Education, Support and Advocacy to Improve the Lives of People with Asthma

Today is World Asthma Day, a key observance to raise awareness about asthma, a chronic lung disease that impacts 27.8 million adults and 4.8 million children in the U.S. May is also Asthma Awareness Month. This year, the American Lung Association is focusing on education, support and advocacy – educating to help manage symptoms and get asthma under control, supporting patients as they navigate issues with their medicines, and advocating for federal funding to help states reduce the burden of asthma.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. People with asthma always have a little swelling or inflammation inside their airways. When exposed to a trigger, the airways can swell even more, have muscle tightening and produce extra mucus, which makes breathing even harder. Symptoms include wheezing, frequent cough, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Asthma triggers for people vary, but the most common triggers can include respiratory infections, allergens, irritants, exercise and even emotions such as anxiety, laughing or crying. The disease accounts for millions of emergency department visits and tens of billions of dollars in healthcare costs each year.

“For people with asthma, using the right medicine, at the right time and in the right way is critical to managing the disease and living a healthy and active life,” said Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. “Unfortunately, too many people with asthma don’t have access to the healthcare and the medicines they need, which can result in visits to the emergency department or hospital and missed days of work or school. That’s why the American Lung Association is urging Congress to increase funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Asthma Control Program, which supports state programs that help to address the burden of asthma in local communities.”

This month, the Lung Association is highlighting three critical areas to help improve the lives of the millions of people living with asthma:

• Education: It is important that people with asthma, parents and caregivers of individuals with asthma, and healthcare professionals are educated on the symptoms of asthma, asthma control, asthma triggers and the proper use of medicines. The American Lung Association offers comprehensive educational programs and resources that are proven effective to help people better understand the disease and best practices to manage it that result in improved  quality of life.

• Access: Proper medicines, which can include daily maintenance (control) medicines, quick-relief (rescue) inhalers and more, are key for controlling asthma. It is critical to know and use the right medicine at the right time and with the right technique; however, some patients struggle to access these lifesaving treatments. The American Lung Association’s Lung Helpline is free and staffed with experts who can help people with asthma navigate many issues with accessing their medicines.

• Advocacy: The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Asthma Control Program (NACP) provides critical funding to states, allowing states to monitor asthma rates and implement solutions to help reduce asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations and missed days of work or school. The American Lung Association is urging Congress to increase funding for the NACP so the program can serve more states and communities. 

Learn more about the American Lung Association’s asthma programs, which are tailored for adults, children, parents and caregivers, schools and healthcare providers, at Lung.org/asthma-awareness.