A HEALTH campaigner in East Lancashire has urged patients with asthma to stay on top of the condition as it was revealed the North West has more people that suffer with the illness than anywhere else in the UK.

Over 470,000 people in the area suffer from asthma, and a first ever National Review of Asthma Deaths has found that two-thirds of those deaths could be prevented with better routine care.

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The review revealed that symptoms of the condition lead to over 65,000 emergency admissions every year, 75 per cent of which are preventable.

Russ McLean, chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Patient Voices Group, said patients needed to be aware of how serious the condition is, but also called for it to be given a higher priority by health chiefs in East Lancashire.

He said: “In East Lancashire we have a pretty good record for asthma treatment.

“The unfortunate thing is patients themselves don’t realise how serious asthma is.

“Someone can have a lifetime of asthma illness and never suffer a really big attack, then something can trigger one when they’re not expecting it.

“To any asthma sufferers I would say make sure you get an annual review, and if you’ve not had one for some time then go through your GP to get one as soon as you can. From talking to patients I would say asthma doesn’t get the same priority in East Lancashire as something like diabetes.”

Dr Tom Smith, the Lancashire Telegraph’s health expert, said: “Asthma should be easily treated, we have inhalers and tablets that can control it, but a lot of people don’t understand the treatments they should be getting. Most health practices will have an expert on asthma who will deal with all asthma patients, but there is a lot of confusion around for asthma sufferers at times.”