Asthma: Are You At Risk?
This is just a short description of a moderate asthma attack. Although most men experience shortness of breath at some points in their lives due to colds or allergies, the signs of asthma can be subtle and go unnoticed for years until provoked by an unidentified trigger.
The recurrent and debilitating effects of asthma sometimes appear suddenly, so it is best to arm yourself with knowledge about this serious and chronic condition.
what is asthma?Asthma is a lung disease in which airflow is restricted in and out of the lungs due to inflammation. Affecting more than 17 million Americans, it is a chronic and serious condition that is the fourth leading cause of work loss in America, resulting in over 14 million lost workdays each year.
In fact, according to 2002's statistics, nearly 500,000 Americans are hospitalized, and more than 5,000 die from asthma annually.
On average, women have higher mortality rates from asthma than men, as well as a higher frequency of hospitalization. And the disease appears to strike more women than men; in 1999, an estimated 4.3 million men had an asthma attack, compared to 6.2 million women. Also, in terms of racial distribution, African-Americans are hospitalized for asthma three to four times more often than other Americans, and African-Americans are four to six times more likely than Caucasians to die from an asthma attack.
chronic or temporary?Asthma can affect any one at any time, but it typically develops early in life, stemming from a combination of genetic and environmental causes. Although some children outgrow childhood asthma, once diagnosed, chances are they will need to manage the disease for the rest of their lives. According to LungUSA (lungusa.org), the condition persists beyond childhood in 72% of men. Also, some forms of childhood asthma may stop, only to return once the child becomes an adult.
The age of onset varies depending on an individual's exposure to environmental triggers like tobacco smoke, household allergens, excess environmental pollutants, and/or genetic predisposition.
In some cases, mild childhood asthma may go unnoticed until adulthood, or an adult may develop asthma during middle age, after years of smoking and recurrent bouts with illnesses like bronchitis or pneumonia. Rarely, an individual may become temporarily asthmatic after a bout with a serious viral infection.
Check out the symptoms of asthma...
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