Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs. An asthma patient suffers from constriction, inflammation, irritation and swelling of the surrounding airways. When asthma attacks, the muscles around the surrounding airways tighten and gets constricted. Constriction and inflammation causes tightening of the airways of the lungs and that leads a patient to have symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. In severe cases the asthma patient might require to gasp to get adequate air to breathe. Sometime a severe asthma attack can prove to be fatal.