Skip to contents
In This Issue:
With no cure for their condition, asthma patients need to be armed with knowledge and skills for a lifetime. That is the approach taken by BWH Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and by the co-authors of the new book The Harvard Medical School Guide to Taking Control of Asthma. According to BWH author Christopher H. Fanta, MD, director of the Partners Asthma Center, “It was our passion, our mission, to arm patients with as much information as possible and to have it all in one place.”
The project grew out of the center’s work to educate patients over the last 15 years. Fanta’s co-authors include Lynda M. Cristiano, MD, BWH Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and Kenan Haver, MD, director of the HMS Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship Program.
Cristiano, who specializes in lung disease in women, contributed a chapter on how asthma affects women, especially in pregnancy. “Asthma is underrepresented in women’s health and has unique features in women, in that pregnancy or even a menstrual period can influence asthma severity,” she said.
“This book gives patients power over their asthma, because the more you know and understand the disease, the easier it becomes to take control,” Fanta added.