Recent epidemiological studies utilizing large numbers of patients with asthma have shown that long term use of ICS is independently associated with a protective effect towards the development of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality, with protective risk at 0.35 (95%CI 0.13-0.93). This effect is possibly mediated through the reduction of low grade systemic inflammation as reflected by plasma hs-CRP, from systemic absorption of the ICS.