How are asthma and heart health linked?

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Although the heart and lungs are neighbors in your chest, people may think of them as separate entities with unrelated problems.

但越来越多的证据表明，哮喘——最常见的肺部疾病之一——是心血管疾病的一个危险因素.

Asthma is a serious chronic disease in which airways are inflamed, often in response to specific triggers. It affects about 25 million people in the U.S., including nearly 5 million children, causing millions of annual visits to doctors' offices and emergency rooms.

我们把这些气道的主要变化称为三个S:肿胀、流鼻涕和挤压. 提拉Bryant-Stephens, 他是费城儿童医院的儿科医生，也是社区哮喘预防项目的医疗主任. "We try to control the swelling and the snot, 也就是粘液, 因为这就是导致气道在对某些刺激物或过敏原做出反应时抽搐的原因."

几项研究表明，患有哮喘的人患各种心脏相关疾病的风险更高. 一个 分析, published in the journal CHEST in 2020, 对参与者进行了超过35年的跟踪调查，发现哮喘与心血管疾病风险增加之间存在联系, after adjusting for other factors. A 2022年的研究 发表在《沙巴体育平台点击进入》上的一篇文章显示，与没有哮喘的人相比，持续性哮喘患者的颈动脉斑块评分和炎症生物标志物水平更高. A carotid artery runs along each side of the neck, 高颈动脉斑块评分是血栓引起的中风和主要心血管沙巴体育平台点击进入的有力预测指标.

Dr. Nizar Jarjour, who co-authored the JAHA study, 他说，哮喘和心血管疾病之间的关系仍然存在许多问题.

“如果我们治疗哮喘并改善哮喘症状，心血管健康会发生什么变化? 大脑健康怎么了? 他们有进步吗?? 难道不是吗??贾儒说, a pulmonologist and chief of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

科学家们确实知道哮喘和心血管疾病有一个共同的联系:炎症. The lungs add oxygen to blood, which the heart then pumps to the rest of the body. 这是有可能的, Jarjour说, 肺部的炎症“会被血液携带，扩散到身体的其他部位，影响大脑和心血管健康。."

随着沙巴足球体育平台的推移，呼吸道的慢性炎症会损害血管，导致高血压, Bryant-Stephens说. 除了, this inflammation has been associated with plaque buildup in the arteries, which can result in a heart attack or stroke, 她说.

许多患有哮喘的人通过吸入器或片剂形式的药物得到缓解. 那些患有持续性哮喘的人通常每天使用药物来控制症状并预防哮喘发作. 但, 一些人质疑这些药物是否会影响哮喘对心血管健康的负面影响.

"That's the million-dollar question," Jarjour说. “问题是，你不能从伦理上对患有持续性哮喘且没有接受适当药物治疗的患者进行研究."

与包括心血管疾病在内的许多健康问题一样，哮喘对每个人的影响并不平等. A 2020年的报告 来自美国哮喘和过敏基金会的研究人员表示，多项研究表明，哮喘的负担不成比例地落在了黑人身上, 拉美裔, American Indian and Alaska Native people.

“这是一个真正需要解决的重大健康差距，”Jarjour说. “很难理清这些差异的各个方面，因为多种(风险因素)伴随着社会经济劣势, 喜欢贫困, 营养不良, stress or living close to a highway or having a job that exposes you to pollution."

治疗哮喘患者的医学专家建议他们避免外部诱因, 包括花粉, 模具, 灰尘, 老鼠和蟑螂, as well as air pollution sources, 比如雾霾, ozone and smoke from charcoal grills, 柴火和香烟.

Weather can also worsen asthma, especially if you exert yourself outdoors when it's too hot or too cold, or the air is especially humid or dry, Jarjour说.

“我们的身体习惯于将我们呼吸的空气调节到正常的98华氏度.6 degrees and a proper humidity level," he said. "If you move away from this too much in one direction or another, you put added stress on the bronchial tubes, which can stimulate constriction."

Climate change could make asthma and cardiovascular disease worse. A 2023年的研究 发表在美国心脏协会期刊《沙巴体育平台点击进入》上的一篇文章说，在美国，极端高温导致的心血管死亡人数增加了.S. 到2050年可能翻一番. While few studies have looked at global warming's potential impact on asthma, Bryant-Stephens说 an increase in hot, humid days will definitely impact breathing and lengthen the pollen season, "so we will see an increase in the number of acute respiratory events."

Even though there's no cure for asthma, it can be controlled. “看到我们在控制症状方面比30年前做得更好，这是令人兴奋的,她说.

然而，布莱恩特-斯蒂芬斯说，如果你不知道自己患有哮喘，就不可能控制哮喘.

"I hear parents and grandparents all the time say, 'Oh, I don't have asthma. 我有支气管炎。.' And when I ask them about their symptoms over the course of their life, it is 哮喘，”她说. "If you're suffering from recurrent coughing, especially if it seems triggered by weather changes, my advice is to ask your doctor to actually test you for asthma."

布莱恩特-斯蒂芬斯还说，成年人控制哮喘是很重要的，即使他们正在处理其他主要的健康问题.

“当人们把注意力集中在心脏病上时，哮喘就会被抛在一边，”她说. “但重要的是要确保你的哮喘得到尽可能密切的调整和管理, because that will put less stress on your heart from a breathing perspective."