THE FUTURE OF
ASTHMA IS YOU

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AWARENESS SUPPORT SCIENCE EMPOWERMENT ACTION

The Next Breath aims to bring more awareness to severe asthma, illuminate the latest advances in the science of type 2 inflammation and empower people to take action to strive towards better asthma control.

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The Next Breath is for
everyone with a role to play
in building a brighter future for
people with severe asthma:

I Have Asthma | The Next Breath

I HAVE ASTHMA, OR
HAVE A LOVED ONE
WHO DOES

Up to 80% of people overestimate how
well controlled their asthma is.
Could this be you or your loved one?

RETHINK YOUR ASTHMA WITH US
What is Asthma? | The Next Breath

I HAVE NASAL POLYPS,
OR THINK I COULD HAVE THEM

Up to 43% of people with severe asthma also
live with nasal polyps caused by a disease
called chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal
polyposis. Could this be you?

TAKE THE NEXT STEP FORWARD
What is Asthma? | The Next Breath

I’M AN ADVOCATE,
MEMBER OF THE MEDIA,
OR SIMPLY WANT TO
FIND OUT MORE

It is estimated 13 to 24 million people worldwide live with severe asthma. So why is awareness still so low?

LEARN MORE TODAY

What can stand
in the way of better
asthma control?

Awareness of barriers will help us
to tackle them better together.

As many as 45% of people living with asthma
have symptoms that are not well controlled.
Different barriers can prevent people from
achieving better asthma control, and
everyone can play a role in addressing them.

Get informed about these barriers here, and
then read on to learn about severe asthma,
a form of the disease that can be particularly
difficult to control.

Patient-Doctor
Disconnects

National
Policies

Overlooking
Symptoms

Treatment
Approaches

Access to
Specialists

People with asthma and doctors can
have different ways of talking about
how well-controlled asthma is, and in
one study, almost 20% of people
hadn't discussed their symptoms with
a doctor at all.

There are few standalone national
policies that are focused on a holistic
approach to reducing the burden of
asthma, from awareness to
environmental risk factor prevention to
treatment decisions.

It is easy for people to overlook how serious their
asthma really is. In one study, more than 80% of
people considered their asthma to be well-controlled,
even though they had experienced an asthma attack
in the past year that required an emergency room
visit, hospitalization or the use of steroids. For people
who have other coexisting inflammatory diseases,
such as those who live with nasal polyps, the symptom
burden can increase and make their asthma more
severe and difficult to treat.

Many people rely on quick-relief medicines,
which can ease symptoms in the moment
but do not adequately address their cause.
In one survey, 23% of people using these
medicines needed urgent asthma treatment
in the past year and almost 70% still had
poorly controlled symptoms.

Asthma specialists (for example, allergists and
pulmonologists) are more likely to be up-to-date on
the latest science and treatment approaches, but
only about 22% of people with asthma visit a
specialist for regular management of their disease,
and 48% have never visited one. This may be
further complicated if the person with asthma has a
coexisting inflammatory disease, which can require
care from a different specialist.

Get informed about these barriers here,
and then read on to learn about severe
asthma, a form of the disease that can be
particularly difficult to control.

Are you living
with asthma?

Your disease may not be as well controlled as you think
it is. Check out these resources to help you rethink your
asthma and take back control of your disease.

CHECK OUT OUR RESOURCES

What is severe asthma?

It’s time to bring more awareness to severe asthma and its impact.

Each person’s asthma is experienced differently and can vary in its symptoms, severity and the treatment required. Many people with asthma can effectively manage their disease with controller medicines.

However, 5% to 10% of asthma cases are classified as severe, which can be harder to control and more disruptive to day-to-day life. With severe asthma, people may experience persistent symptoms despite using multiple controller medicines. (Discover what these disruptive symptoms can look like by clicking on the “Symptoms” button.)

Despite this impact, severe asthma often goes unrecognized. People with severe asthma may not realize that their disease falls into this category – and people who don’t have severe asthma may not realize how serious it can be.

Scientific advances are helping to uncover the root causes of certain types of asthma, and we now know that 50% to 70% of people with asthma have underlying excessive type 2 inflammation. We’ll explore this type of inflammation in more detail later, but it has never been more important to increase awareness of severe asthma, including its symptoms, and personal and societal impact.

Are you living with or caring for
someone with asthma?

Click for resources to help you have more productive conversations.

I HAVE ASTHMA OR HAVE A LOVED ONE WHO DOES I HAVE ASTHMA OR HAVE A LOVED ONE WHO DOES

Where is the
science heading?

More is known than ever before about the science and contributory causes of severe asthma – including type 2 inflammation – which is opening up new ways to manage the disease.

CAUSES OF ASTHMA
TYPE 2
INFLAMMATION
FUTURE OF CARE
Causes of Asthma | The Next Breath Causes of Asthma | The Next Breath

CAUSES OF ASTHMA

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways. The causes of asthma are complex and can include:

  • Immune System: An overactive immune system response can cause excessive inflammation in the airways, causing them to narrow and making it harder to breathe.

  • Environmental Triggers: Factors such as pollen, smoke, weather changes or exercise, can trigger this excessive inflammation, causing the onset or worsening of asthma symptoms.

Some people have asthma that is associated with obesity or aging; for others, the disease is associated with an overactive immune response that causes excessive inflammation. Let’s take a closer look at that specific type of inflammation, called type 2 inflammation.

Type 2 Inflammation in Asthma | The Next Breath Type 2 Inflammation in Asthma | The Next Breath

TYPE 2 INFLAMMATION

Through scientific advances, we now understand that a particular type of inflammation called type 2 inflammation, which is caused by an imbalance in the immune system, is excessive in 50% to 70% of people with asthma.

There are often higher levels of type 2
inflammation in the airways of people with
severe asthma. Reducing this inflammation can
help to control symptoms.

Asthma described as “eosinophilic” or “allergic” (or a mixture of the two) may be associated with underlying type 2 inflammation.

Asthma with underlying type 2 inflammation is also known as type 2 asthma.

Type 2 inflammation can be a cause of other diseases throughout the body (known as coexisting diseases), such as allergic rhinitis and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis. This can help explain why some people with excessive type 2 inflammation struggle with one or more of these diseases in addition to asthma.

Let’s take a look at the symptoms of nasal polyps in more detail.

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis is an inflammatory disease in which nasal polyps – teardrop-shaped growths – form in the sinuses and nasal passages.

Symptoms include persistent breathing difficulties, nasal congestion and runny nose, reduced or loss of sense of smell and taste, and facial pressure.

Nasal polyps can occur on its own, but many patients with nasal polyps also have other type 2 inflammatory diseases. About 50% of people with nasal polyps also have asthma and, what’s more, they are more likely to experience the severe form of asthma that is difficult to treat.

Asthma Treatment | The Next Breath Asthma Treatment | The Next Breath

FUTURE OF CARE

Scientists continue to research ways to address excessive type 2 inflammation directly, with the goal of helping people achieve the four key measures of asthma control:

  • Preventing asthma attacks
  • Reducing symptoms to improve quality of life
  • Reducing the use of oral steroid medicines
  • Improving breathing (or “lung function”)

With advances in the science and understanding of type 2 inflammation opening up new possibilities, it’s time for a new conversation about the different types of asthma and ways in which they can be managed.

I HAVE ASTHMA OR HAVE A LOVED ONE WHO DOES I HAVE NASAL POLYPS OR THINK I COULD HAVE THEM

NASAL POLYPS
SMOTHERING YOU?

Although related to asthma, nasal polyps is a condition that comes with its own unique challenges. Find out how science is advancing to meet them.

LEARN MORE

Moving the future of asthma forward, together

Working together, we can bring more awareness to severe asthma,
illuminate the latest advances in the science of type 2
inflammation and empower people to take action
to strive for better asthma control.

Start using your next breath today to inspire others to get informed and
check back soon to find more ways to get involved.

#TheNextBreath