Asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease characterized by constriction or narrowing of the airways, resulting in a limitation of airflow. This airway disorder is associated with episodic degrees of inflammation, bronchial hypersensitivity, and bronchoconstriction. In susceptible individuals, remodeling of the airways and a progressive loss of lung function may occur with persistent disease. Asthma may be incited by an array of stimuli, commonly referred to as triggers, which result in symptoms of varying intensity, frequency, and duration. Asthma symptoms may consist of shortness of breath, coughing (particularly worse at night or early in the morning), wheezing, rapid breathing, and chest tightness. With asthma afflicting more than 22 million Americans from infancy to adulthood, symptom exacerbation is responsible for a significant number of urgent-care visits, ...