Every year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) evaluates conditions in the 100 largest cities in America and ranks them based on the quality of life in each city for people living with asthma. Researchers at AAFA review 12 factors that impact the quality of life for people with asthma, including: the estimated prevalence of adult and pediatric asthma; the crude death rate for asthma; risk factors, such as air pollution, pollen counts and public smoking; and medical factors, such as the number of asthma medications used per patient and the number of asthma specialists in the area. Below is a list of the cities that rank best in quality of life for people with asthma in 2009.

This year’s top 10 best cities in the U.S. to live in if you have asthma are:

1. Cape Coral, FL
2. Seattle, WA
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Colorado Springs, CO
5. Portland, OR
6. Palm Bay, FL
7. Daytona Beach, FL
8. San Francisco, CA
9. Portland, ME
10. Boise City, ID

No matter where you live, having uncontrolled asthma significantly impact your life and lead to missed school or work, emergency room visits, hospitalization, and even death. If your asthma is poorly controlled, talk to your doctor about making changes to your asthma action plan include adjustments in your current asthma prevention medications. Not sure if your asthma is well controlled? Take the Asthma Quiz Challenge and find out how much you know about uncontrolled asthma symptoms. Learn more by reading the Healia Health Guide to Uncontrolled Asthma.

<sub>Source: Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America, Asthma Capitals 2009, Jan 2009. http://www.aafa.org/pdfs/2009ACPublicList.PDF 

Photo: pink_Fish13, Flickr, Creative Commons</sub>