On the recordMarch 10, 2011
I rise to speak about asthma and the impact of health disparities. I have pointed out on the floor before that race and ethnic health disparities exist in America. I have talked on the floor before about sickle cell disease. Well, the same thing is true with the chronic inflammatory diseases of the body's airways that impede breathing, such as asthma. As I pointed out before, the Affordable Care Act includes a provision I helped write that establishes the Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH. The purpose for including this information about asthma in the Record is to point out that we still have challenges that need to be met. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the body's airways that impairs breathing and affects more than 20 million Americans. People with this condition have overly reactive airways that constrict in response to allergens, temperature changes, physical exercise, and stress. During asthma attacks, the airways spasm and prevent oxygen from getting to the lungs. This leads to chest tightness, shortage of breath, wheezing and mucus production. Severe attacks can require intubation and even result in death. Of the 20 million Americans affected by asthma, about 7 million are children. In fact, about 10 percent of all American children have asthma.
