Asthma

Asthma is a chronic lung disease caused by genetic and environmental factors. Characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airway, asthma can lead to shortness of breath, wheezing, tight feeling in the chest, coughing often and even death. Common asthma triggers include tobacco smoke, dust mites, allergies, cockroaches, weather changes, exercise or active playing, infections and strong odors and fumes. Nine percent (about 104,500) of children in the eight-county service area currently have asthma.¹

Community insights

Uncontrolled asthma can lead to increased emergency department visits and hospitalizations.² Of the children who currently have asthma in the eight-county service area– Collin, Denton, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties, approximately 4 in 7 (about 59,600) children had an episode of asthma or asthma attack in the past year and nearly 1 in 4 (about 25,700) children have been to the emergency room because of asthma symptoms.¹ Between 2021 and 2023, Cook Children's Medical Centers in Fort Worth and Prosper recorded 7,798 emergency department visits for asthma, treated 5,629 children, and 2,637 children were hospitalized for asthma symptoms.³ Managing a child’s asthma symptoms requires education and collaboration across a child’s social network. View the county-level snapshot to learn more about how asthma impacts our eight-county service area. 

Contact us about our program

For questions or information on our asthma programming, please email courtney.barnard@cookchildrens.org