What is Asthma? (Environmental Protection Agency)

Asthma is a serious, sometimes life-threatening chronic respiratory disease that affects the quality of life for almost 25 million Americans, including an estimated 7 million children. Although there is no cure for asthma yet, asthma can be controlled through medical treatment and management of environmental triggers. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to educating all Americans about asthma so that everyone knows what asthma is, how the environment can affect asthma patients, and how to manage environmental asthma triggers.