WHEREAS, Approximately 24 million Americans suffer from
asthma; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 3,400 people worldwide die from asthma every
year; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 980,000 Pennsylvanians live with
asthma; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 155 Pennsylvanians die from asthma every
year; and
WHEREAS, Bronchial thermoplasty is delivered by the Alair
System, the first therapeutic device-based procedure approved by
the Food and Drug Administration, in 2010, for adult patients
with severe uncontrolled asthma; and
WHEREAS, Bronchial thermoplasty targets smooth muscles in the
airway by delivering a controlled specific amount of thermal
energy to the airway wall through a dedicated catheter; and
WHEREAS, Candidates for bronchial thermoplasty include adults
with severe persistent asthma whose asthma is uncontrolled
despite adherence to regular maintenance medications; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 79% of patients who were treated with
bronchial thermoplasty reported a significant improvement in
their asthma-related quality of life; and
WHEREAS, Patients with severe asthma who were treated with
bronchial thermoplasty experienced a 32% decrease in severe
asthma attacks, an 84% reduction in asthma-related emergency
room visits and 66% fewer days lost from work, school and daily
activities due to asthma; and
WHEREAS, According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of
America, five of the top 50 most challenging places to live with
asthma are located in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia,
Allentown, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Harrisburg; and
20180HR0858PN3411 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30