Asthma kills about 30 people in Nevada every year and the disease is prevalent among young people.
Recent studies show that nearly 24 percent of high school females, and 26 percent of males indicated having asthma. Creating more awareness about this disease is the goal of National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, held each May. Linda Lewis is a member of the Nevada Statewide Asthma Coalition. She says emerging research also links childhood obesity to more severe asthma issues.
"Obesity can worsen asthma symptoms, make them more difficult to manage - can cause more hospitalizations," Lewis said.
Lewis says there is no cure for asthma, which can be genetic or developed at any point in life.
According to the CDC, about 25 million Americans have asthma, up from 20 million in 2001, and approximately ten people die from it each day.