Which triggers cause an asthma attack?<\/strong><\/p>\n About nine people in the United States die due to asthma complications each day, according to data<\/a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While adults are more likely to die from the disease than children, 166 people under the age of 18 died from asthma complications in 2023.<\/p>\n Annual asthma deaths have decreased since 1999, according to the American Lung Association<\/a>. Still, the death rate has not improved over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n Kenneth Mendez, CEO and president of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, said the annual national economic impact from asthma, looking at both medical costs and missed days of work, is around $115 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cThose numbers are really important as we think about policy decisions and think about ways that we can keep people from dying, keep people out of the emergency room, keep people from missing school days or work days,\u201d Mendez said.<\/p>\n Some individuals with the disease suffer worse than others. Although there are no uniform descriptors of what defines severe asthma, symptoms are often disabling, said Dr. Lavanya Srinivasan, a pulmonary medicine expert at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n \u201c(The) inability to breathe is a terrible sensation,\u201d Srinivasan said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like having your head dumped in a bucket of water and somebody is asking you to breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of asthma patients visiting the emergency room has increased. Last year saw the highest number of people in Texas admitted to hospitals and emergency departments for asthma since 2020, according to Texas Department of State Health Services<\/a> data.<\/p>\n Increasing awareness and investment<\/p>\n In Fort Worth, hospitals and clinics continue to invest in ways to improve the lives of asthma patients.<\/p>\n Baylor Scott & White launched a new asthma clinic in Fort Worth last month that offers personalized and comprehensive care, including services ranging from breathing tests to one-on-one educational sessions, Srinivasan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe definitely want to be able to offer not just the breathing tests but also the education that goes along with it, to be able to ensure that we are able to help support them with questions that can come later on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Cook Children\u2019s Medical Center recently opened the Nelson Ku High-Risk Asthma Clinic in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n The clinic offers education and one-on-one physician support to children identified as high-risk asthmatics and provides families with education and information to help better control their children\u2019s disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to decrease the number of hospital admissions and ER visits that those patients have, that they have the tools, and that their asthma baseline is controlled well enough that their exacerbations are not as severe,\u201d said Dr. Karen Schultz, a pediatric pulmonologist at Cook Children\u2019s.<\/p>\n The clinic trains educators and school employees to better identify and react to asthma attacks.<\/p>\n As of Sept. 4, 97 kids have visited the clinic. Ku said Cook Children\u2019s proposed naming the clinic after Nelson in an effort to work with the family to promote asthma education.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to idolize my son because he\u2019s not there to be idolized, but we want his story to be told,\u201d Ku said.<\/p>\n Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n\n
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A sign denoting the Nelson Ku High-Risk Asthma Clinic (Courtesy photo | Cook Children\u2019s Medical Center)<\/p>\n
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