Heartburn Care
Is the nagging of heartburn familiar to you? Frequent, severe heartburn could be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease, often called GERD. According to the American College of Gastroenterology, approximately 25 million adult Americans suffer from heartburn - the most common symptom of acid reflux or GERD - on a daily basis. We are here to help you take the first steps toward finding relief.
What is Heartburn?
When everything is functioning as it should, a muscle (or sphincter) at the lower end of your esophagus opens when you swallow, allowing food to pass into your stomach. If that muscle is weakened or relaxes at the wrong time, acid from your stomach can come back up into your esophagus (acid reflux), creating the sensation of heartburn. Other symptoms of acid reflux may include persistent sore throat, hoarseness, chronic cough, asthma, chest pain or a feeling of having a lump in the throat.
If acid reflux becomes a chronic problem, it can lead to trouble swallowing, esophageal bleeding or ulcers, and an increased risk of developing cancerous cells at the bottom of the esophagus.
Talk with your doctor if you experience persistent heartburn.
Control Your Symptoms
Heartburn, a burning sensation behind your breastbone, typically occurs just after a meal and is usually not serious or life-threatening. However, frequent heartburn can interfere with daily activities, inhibit productivity and lead to health complications.
If you experience occasional heartburn, try these tips to reduce symptoms.
- Remain upright immediately after eating.
- Elevate the head of your bed four to six inches when you sleep at night.
- Lose weight if you are overweight.
- Stop smoking.
- Eat small, more frequent meals rather than large meals.
- Avoid consuming chocolate, coffee, alcohol, fried food, fatty foods, mint products (peppermint, spearmint), carbonated beverages, citrus fruits or juices, tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard, vinegar and aspirin.
Don't add feelings of shame, blame and guilt to your heartburn discomfort. Lifestyle habits and the foods and beverages you eat and drink may intensify your symptoms, and you have the power to change those habits. But know that there are also biological causes for heartburn and that, for some people, lifestyle alone is not the sole cause.
Surgical solutions to GERD
Your surgeon may suggest one of several, minimally-invasive surgical procedures to relieve your GERD symptoms. One procedure features an implant made of a series of magnetic titanium beads connected with titanium wires. The beads help keep your lower esophageal sphincter closed, thereby restoring the reflux barrier. When you swallow, the magnetic beads slide away from each other on the titanium wires to allow food to pass into your stomach.
Your surgeon will be able to help you decide which surgical options may be appropriate for you.