GERD Symptoms - Heartburn
The most common symptom of GERD is heartburn.
Heartburn is experienced by most people at some time or another.
It requires evaluation by a specialist only when it is experienced repeatedly, when it persists despite over-the-counter remedies, or when it is accompanied by more alarming symptoms such as weigh loss, difficulty swallowing, or bleeding.
If you have never experienced heartburn, it may be difficult to imagine what it feels like - and if you have, you are painfully familiar with this unpleasant sensation.
Most people describe it as a burning, dull ache, pain, or discomfort behind the sternum (breastbone), often seeming to extend up in the chest, occasionally as far up as the throat.
The discomfort of heartburn can be so intense that it feels like a heart attack, or so mild that it is barely noticeable.
Heartburn tends to occur after a meal, and especially after a large meal eaten at night or a meal that includes fatty foods, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, or peppermint.
What else can cause GERD symptoms? Any of the following, alone or in combination:
Beside obesity, the most common causes of an abnormally large belly are pregnancy or abnormal fluid in the abdominal cavity.
Many of the items on this list lead to stomach acid refluxing into the esophagus either because they affect the stomach or because they affect the lower esophageal sphincter.
Obesity, tight clothing, bending over, and coughing tend to increase pressure in the abdomen so that stomach contents are forced upward.
Fatty foods, chocolate, and smoking, on the other hand, cause GERD symptoms by reducing the pressure in the LES, thereby reducing its effectiveness as a mechanical barrier to the upward movement of stomach acid.
Additionally, there are medications, such as some asthma medicines, that have the side effect of reducing LES pressure.
Heartburn is experienced by most people at some time or another.
It requires evaluation by a specialist only when it is experienced repeatedly, when it persists despite over-the-counter remedies, or when it is accompanied by more alarming symptoms such as weigh loss, difficulty swallowing, or bleeding.
If you have never experienced heartburn, it may be difficult to imagine what it feels like - and if you have, you are painfully familiar with this unpleasant sensation.
Most people describe it as a burning, dull ache, pain, or discomfort behind the sternum (breastbone), often seeming to extend up in the chest, occasionally as far up as the throat.
The discomfort of heartburn can be so intense that it feels like a heart attack, or so mild that it is barely noticeable.
Heartburn tends to occur after a meal, and especially after a large meal eaten at night or a meal that includes fatty foods, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, or peppermint.
What else can cause GERD symptoms? Any of the following, alone or in combination:
- vigorous exercise
- tight clothing
- lying down after eating any kind of food
- smoking
- bending over
- coughing
- being overweight or obese
Beside obesity, the most common causes of an abnormally large belly are pregnancy or abnormal fluid in the abdominal cavity.
Many of the items on this list lead to stomach acid refluxing into the esophagus either because they affect the stomach or because they affect the lower esophageal sphincter.
Obesity, tight clothing, bending over, and coughing tend to increase pressure in the abdomen so that stomach contents are forced upward.
Fatty foods, chocolate, and smoking, on the other hand, cause GERD symptoms by reducing the pressure in the LES, thereby reducing its effectiveness as a mechanical barrier to the upward movement of stomach acid.
Additionally, there are medications, such as some asthma medicines, that have the side effect of reducing LES pressure.
