The World Health Organization estimates there are between 100-and 150-million people around the globe who suffer from asthma...and approximately 180-thousand asthmatics yearly die from the condition.
To make matters worse, the rate of asthma is rising in many countries. There is no cure for asthma, but there is an experimental treatment available for those who need help beyond medication.
Many asthmatics have become dependent on large doses of steroids to keep their airways open. Now researchers have developed a new kind of treatment called Bronchial Thermoplasty.
While the patient is sedated, surgeons move a fiber optic camera through the windpipe...and into the passages where air goes to the lungs. Then they apply bursts of heat to the airways to shrink the tissue that block the airways. This helps asthmatics to breathe more easily.
Listen to our Health report for more details.