Tennis Legend Mary Joe Fernandez, Urges People With Asthma To Know Their Asthma Score

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 14 Oct 2006 - 0:00 PDT


Mary Joe Fernandez, tennis legend and well-known tennis commentator, is making a special appearance in Los Angeles to urge Hispanic-Americans 12 years and older with asthma to take the Asthma Control Test(TM) (ACT). The ACT is an asthma assessment tool, available in Spanish and English, which can help doctors assess the patient's level of symptom control. Over 1 million people in the Los Angeles area have asthma.

Mary Joe has asthma, but refuses to let it slow her down. She wants other people with asthma to know that they can live a full and active life with an effective asthma management plan. Throughout her childhood and her teenage years, Mary Joe suffered from what she thought was chronic bronchitis. It wasn't until she was 20 years old, at the height of her tennis career, that a doctor correctly diagnosed her as having asthma.

"For a long time, I lived with undiagnosed and uncontrolled asthma, which left me vulnerable to frequent symptoms and attacks," says Mary Joe. "Looking back, that was a very frightening time. Now, I have an asthma management plan that works for me and I visit my doctor regularly to ensure my asthma stays under control."

Mary Joe's experience led to her current commitment to help increase awareness about the importance of talking with a doctor about asthma and the Asthma Control Test. The five questions included in the ACT are based on measures of asthma control established by the National Institutes of Health Asthma Guidelines.

"There are a number of steps to take in order to get asthma under control, and it is very important to understand from patients how their asthma is affecting them," said Dr. Edgar Ardila, a pulmonary care specialist with Riverside Community Hospital of Riverside, CA. "The ACT not only can encourage a constructive dialogue between patients and physicians about the patient's symptoms, but also provides more information to help determine the most appropriate asthma management plan for the patient."

National guidelines for the treatment of asthma recommend targeting the two main causes of the disease -- airway inflammation and constriction -- which cause the airways to narrow and can lead to symptoms that include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Though there is no cure, asthma can be a highly controllable disease when patients take the appropriate steps toward symptom prevention and daily long-term management with proper treatment.

ACT FOR YOUR ASTHMA

The ACT is a five-item questionnaire, available in both English and Spanish, which gives physicians and patients a simple yet highly predictive tool they can use to help assess asthma control. Answers to the ACT provide asthma patients a score that may help them and their doctor determine if their current treatment plan is working. The total ACT score is based on a range of 5 to 25. A score of 19 or less may be an indication that asthma symptoms are not under control. If a patient scores 19 or less, they should make an appointment with their doctor to discuss their ACT results and ensure they are properly controlling their asthma symptoms. Even if patients score a 20 or more they should talk with their doctor about their results to help improve their asthma dialogue.

The ACT is available in English and Spanish by visiting online at http://www.controldelasma.com or http://www.asthmacontrol.com.

Asthma Among Hispanic Americans

Asthma is a chronic condition affecting approximately 20 million Americans overall, and according to recent statistics nearly 2 million Hispanic-American adults in the U.S. currently have asthma. The incidence of asthma is highest with Hispanics of Puerto Rican descent. If left uncontrolled, asthma can lead to a range of consequences, including frequent symptoms, missed work, urgent care visits, hospitalization and even life-threatening asthma attacks. Asthma was the main cause of approximately 800 deaths between 2000 and 2002 among the Hispanic-American population.

GlaxoSmithKline
http://www.asthmacontrol.com

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