Executive Summary

Glossary

> > Glossary


	Executive Summary

		Overview

		Frequency and Severity of Symptoms

		Acute Treatment of Asthma

		Personal Consequences of Asthma

		Unmet Standards of Care

		Parent-Child Communication Gap

		Widespread Misunderstanding

		Conclusion

		Missing the Mark

		Survey Methods

		Glossary

	National/Regional Survey Data



	Survey Slide Kit

Anti-inflammatories – A class of preventative medications used to help treat asthma by reducing inflammation in the airways of the lungs.

Asthma – A chronic, inflammatory condition of the airways with two main components: constriction – the tightening of the muscles around the airways, and inflammation – the swelling and irritation of the airways. Both the constriction and the inflammation cause narrowing of the airways, which may result in asthma symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath.

Asthma Action Plan – A written plan developed between the patient and healthcare professional to help manage asthma.

Asthma attack – When symptoms of asthma such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath suddenly become more severe, more frequent or both. They are also called asthma flare-ups or asthma episodes.

Bronchoconstriction (constriction) – A term that refers to the tightening of muscles around the airways.

Bronchodilators – Medications that relieve and help prevent constriction of the airways in the lungs. There are two types of bronchodilators: quick-relief bronchodilators are used to help relieve sudden asthma symptoms when they occur; long-acting bronchodilators are used to help prevent airway narrowing (constriction) from occurring.

Current asthma – For this survey, current asthma is defined as asthma in people who have been diagnosed with asthma and who had either experienced asthma symptoms or taken medication for asthma within the past year.

Inflammation – A term that refers to the swelling and irritation in the airways of the lungs. Airway inflammation from asthma is always there, even when symptoms are not present. There is increasing evidence that, if left untreated, inflammation can damage the airways and may cause long-term loss of lung function.

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) – A class of preventative medications (antiinflammatories) used to treat asthma by reducing inflammation in the airways of the lungs. Because they are inhaled or breathed in, they go directly to the lungs where they are needed and have lesser effects on other areas of the body. According to NHLBI asthma treatment guidelines, inhaled corticosteroids are the preferred and most effective initial therapy for persistent asthma.

Long-acting beta-agonists – These are preventative bronchodilator medications that keep the airways open by relaxing the smooth muscle surrounding the airways.

Lung function test (spirometry) – A simple test administered by a healthcare professional to measure how much and how fast air can be blown out of the lungs after taking a deep breath. The results will be lower than normal if airways are inflamed and narrowed, as in asthma, or if the muscles around the airways have tightened up.

Peak flow meter – A portable, hand-held device used to measure how fast a person can blow air out of the lungs.

Persistent asthma – Asthma symptoms experienced more than twice a week or with impaired lung function.

Preventative medication (controller or maintenance medication) – A medication taken every day to help prevent asthma symptoms from occurring. It is NOT used for quick relief.

Short-acting beta-agonist (rescue medication) – A quick-relief medication used to relieve sudden asthma symptoms. It works quickly to open airways by relaxing the muscles surrounding the airways. However, it does not treat the underlying airway inflammation or help to provide long-term control of asthma.

Symptoms of asthma – The four main symptoms of asthma are coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.