Lung Association To Blow The Whistle On Asthma At 2nd Annual Asthma Walk

Sunday, June 5, 2005, the American Lung Association of the City Of New York will host the second annual Asthma WALK at Battery Park in Manhattan. Registration will open at 9:00 a.m. and the three-mile walk will start at 10:00 a.m. Residents can donate their time and effort by volunteering or walking to help fight asthma.

More than one million New Yorkers, 300,000 of whom are children, are struggling to breathe with this chronic lung disease. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism and pediatric hospitalizations in all five boroughs. There is no cure for asthma, but with proper treatment and resources, people can manage their asthma and lead healthy, normal lives.

Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the lungs that causes airway obstruction, chest tightness, coughing and wheezing, shortness of breath and low blood oxygen.

When someone suffers from an asthma episode, they gasp for breath as the airways to the lungs become constricted, and passages become inflamed and clogged with thick, sticky secretions.

Smoke, mold, pollen, dust, animal dander, exercise, cold air, pollutants, scents, household and industrial products, and simple stress are common triggers of asthma.

An estimated 4,000 walkers led by flagship sponsors Altana, Local 1199 SEIU, NYC Health & Hospitals Corp., Pfizer and Silverstein Properties are expected to join the Association for theAsthma WALK. Together with media sponsors WABC-TV and CD 101.9 FM, corporations and community groups in all five boroughs are working to raise community awareness of asthma and fund education and research programs to help manage and improve its treatment.

All funds raised at the Asthma WALK will support the American Lung Association of the City of New York’s education, advocacy and research programs to prevent lung disease and promote lung health.

To join the Asthma WALK and the fight against asthma, please contact the American Lung Association of the City of New York at 212-889-3370 or toll free at 1-800-LUNG-USA in order to register online at www.alany.org to walk, donate or volunteer.