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Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects breathing by inflaming and constricting airways. There are several common triggers that can cause attacks including allergies, exercise, cigarette smoke, stress and even a cold. Symptoms of an attack include wheezing, numbness in limbs, shortness of breath and aching muscles. Asthmatic categories include: mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent and severe persistent. In severe cases, victims experience numbness in their limbs and pass out. While it’s true that humans share about 99 percent of their overall genetic makeup, certain conditions affect each race differently. Although asthma affects 15 million Americans, it’s 38 percent higher among blacks than whites. The racial disparities only get more startling from there. – adam jones

According to www.lungusa.org:

• African Americans represent 12.7 percent of the U.S. population, but account for 26 percent of all asthma deaths.
• African American children covered by Medicaid have worse asthma and use less preventive asthma medications than other children in the same Medicaid-managed population.
• African Americans are three times more likely to die from asthma than whites.

Why do African Americans suffer from asthma at a much higher rate? Researchers attribute this to socioeconomic factors. Many lower income African Americans aren’t able to afford health care and don’t seek outpatient treatment. While there’s no cure for asthma, many attacks are preventable and education can greatly lower these statistics. Prevention is key