Chest Medicine Head of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, Professor Nadeem Rizvi in a presentation "Asthma Management" here said that around 300 million people were currently affected with asthma. Mentioning that Asthma has appeared to be one of the most common under-diagnosed and under-treated diseases, he observed that burden of asthma in many countries was of sufficient magnitude to warrant its recognition as a top priority disorder in government health strategies.
Referring to available statistics, the senior pulmonologist said an additional 100 to 150 million people were likely to have asthma globally by 2025.
That, he said was in a situation where many of the deaths caused by asthma were preventable yet considerable number of asthma patients did not comply with the medication and learnt to live with untreated asthma. "Most of the asthma patients are still not aware of the fact that asthma is a manageable disease," he said.
It was mentioned on the occasion that World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US-based National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have jointly formed the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) with the objective to cut deaths and disability by developing and implementing an optimal strategy for asthma management and prevention.
The GINA goals call for no limitation on physical activities and exercise. It emphasises that the overall aim of treatment is to achieve good control manifested through minimal or no chronic symptoms (including at night time).