A 66-year-old woman was suffering with severe, persistent, drug-resistant asthma that restricted not only her breathing but her daily life for over 40 years.

The patient had recurrent asthma attacks and frequent emergency room visits despite her medication regimes. Dr R Narasimhan, Pulmonologist, Apollo Hospitals, performed Bronchial Thermoplasty, the first non-drug procedure for Asthma which has changed her life for the best. Thirteen of the world’s 20 most polluted cities were in India, according to WHO’s ambient air pollution database. The air in most of the Indian cities has the highest amounts of tiny suspended particles that penetrate deep into the airways and lungs to cause asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, stroke and a clutch of other diseases.

Between 15 and 20 million people have asthma in India, according to WHO with some studies putting the numbers higher at 30 million. Prevalence was high at 10 per cent and 15 per cent in 5–11-year-old children, who have smaller airways that get constricted when exposed to allergens such as pollutants, dust, weather changes, pollen, mites and hazardous gases in indoor and outdoor air. This makes asthma the most common chronic disorder in India.