A muscle stands as traffic cop at the stomach’s entrance, to keep your favorite cookout food going the right direction to the stomach. Heartburn happens when the food sneaks the wrong way, from your stomach into your esophagus. And, the food can bring acidic irritants along with it. The esophagus isn’t built to handle that kind of traffic, meaning your esophagus can get burned, much like your skin is burned when you touch
something hot.
According to Dr. Sreenivas Chintalapani, M.D., a fellowship-trained gastroenterologist at the Gastrointestinal Clinic of the Quad Cities, heartburn shows up as one of the symptoms for any number of serious and not-so-serious conditions. “Chronic heartburn is often caused by gastro esophageal reflux disease – which can create real problems in your esophagus if it’s left untreated,” says Dr. Chintalapani.
Sometimes the stomach’s top bit can slide up through the ring of muscle that’s supposed to prevent acid reflux that causes GERD. Once the stomach shoves past that muscle – a condition called a hiatal hernia – it’s easy for that stomach-acid to bring on the burn.
Maintaining a healthy weight will help prevent heartburn, too. Obesity creates pressure in the stomach, and the fat can put enough pressure on the stomach to force some heartburn-inducing acid where it doesn’t belong.
Degrees of burn.
Here’s a quick overview of what symptoms of heartburn might indicate.
Run-of-the-grill indigestion:
Heartburn, the sour taste in the throat, nausea, gas, loss of appetite.
Gallbladder disease:
Gallbladder attacks are associated with the symptoms for ordinary heartburn, plus rapid-onset, severe upper abdominal pain lasting from 1/2 to several hours. The pain can radiate to under the right shoulder or between the shoulder blades. There is also often abdominal bloating that isn’t relieved by passing gas or changing position.
Acute pancreatitis:
A similar pain profile to gallbladder disease, though without the gas. Your doctor will be able to tell the difference by running blood tests.
Vomiting blood:
If you do so – especially if it looks like coffee grounds – it may indicate more than indigestion. This could be a severe form of gastritis, a stomach lining irritation, or one of several digestive-tract ulcers. Bloody stools are cause for similar concern.
