UK Health Radio Medical News Update Asthma Deaths up in the UK

Thursday 8th May 2014

UK Health Radio Medical News Update

Asthma Deaths up in the UK 

The first national study of asthma deaths in the UK has concluded that people who suffer from asthma are dying unnecessarily because of complacency among both medical staff and patients.

Researchers found that in nearly half of the cases studied, asthma sufferers did not receive any medical help during their final asthma attack. The national study involved a detailed examination of the circumstances of 195 deaths from fatal asthma attacks. 

The UK has 5.5 million asthmatics and the National Review of Asthma Deaths has said that sufferers and medics must become better at recognising the danger signs.

While it is true that deaths linked to the condition have fallen, the UK still has some of the highest asthma death rates in Europe. Holly Sparshott, from Gosport, died of asthma at the age of 12. The BBC reports that her mother, Sarah, is campaigning to raise awareness about how dangerous the disease can be. 

Researchers found that clinicians and patients alike were in danger of becoming complacent about this illness since asthma symptoms can come and go.  It is often the case that while patients feel well, they may forget or feel that there is no need to keep taking their prescribed medication. Over half of those who died were being treated for mild or moderate asthma at the time and experts concluded that this was mostly because neither doctors nor patients themselves recognised how serious their asthma really was. Of those who died, 19% were smokers and others, including many of the children who died, had been exposed to second-hand smoke in the home. Some patients had not picked up prescriptions for preventative treatment and others had not being attending check-ups for their asthma.

Amanda Thomas 

UK Health Radio

sponsored by 1-stop-health-shop.com