What Is Asthma? Asthma is a chronic lung disease that makes breathing difficult. It causes symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, and chest tightness (some people get all of these symptoms, while others may only have cough, for example). Asthma varies widely in its severity. To the mild asthmatic it can be little more than an annoyance. For the moderate asthmatic, it can definitely affect the way they go about their routine activities. For the severely affected, asthma can be a life-threatening disease. As part of the asthma disease process the bronchial tubes, the airways through which oxygen comes into the lungs, are chronically inflamed and swollen. Also, the interior of the bronchial tubes can be obstructed by thick mucus and narrowed because of thickened muscles surrounding the tubes. These changes result in difficulty in the movement of air to the lungs and the symptoms mentioned above. Researchers have looked at tissue biopsies of asthmatic bronchial tubes under the microscope and found their lining damaged and their walls thickened because of leaky blood vessels, infiltration of white blood cells with the toxic chemicals they release, overgrowth of mucus secreting cells, among other findings. There may be different reasons why this inflammation occurs depending on a variety factors particular to each asthmatic sufferer. In some people a major cause is exposure to allergens (see What is an Allergy?), while in others the cause of the inflammation is unknown. This inflammation leads to "twitchiness" of the muscles surrounding the bronchial tubes - put another way the inflammation leads to "airway hyperresponsiveness" or "airway hyperreactivity." Consequently, if an asthmatic is exposed to an irritant (cold air, cigarette smoke, exercise, allergens) this twitchiness can lead to clamping down and narrowing of the airways. This results in the typical asthmatic symptoms. For those with more than mild asthma, this can occur without any irritant exposure or exercise. In summary, asthma is a chronic disease of inflammation of the airways that leads to decreased air movement to the lungs. It is the result of some known (allergens, occupational exposures) and some unknown factors. Even though some younger asthmatics can go into remission over time, there is currently no cure for asthma. However, in the great majority of sufferers that disease can be controlled very well with proper medical treatment and minimal side effects. See also our list of Frequently Asked Questions on Asthma.
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