The occasional bout of heartburn is often treatable with over-the-counter medication and lifestyle modification.
Heartburn, which is experienced on a more consistent basis and is less often relieved by over-the-counter medications may be the result of gastroesophageal reflux disease, also called GERD.
Ask yourself the following questions, to see if your symptoms may actually be caused by GERD:
- Is your heartburn occurring more than twice a week?
- Has the pattern of your heartburn changed? Is it worse than it use to be?
- Do you wake up at night with heartburn?
- Have you been having occasional heartburn that is associated with difficulty swallowing?
- Do you continue to have heartburn symptoms even after taking non-prescription medication?
- Do you experience hoarseness or worsening of asthma after meals, lying down, or exercise, or asthma that occurs mainly at night?
- Are you experiencing unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite?
- Do your heartburn symptoms interfere with your lifestyle or daily activity?
- Are you in need of increasing doses of nonprescription medicine to control heartburn?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, your heartburn warrants attention from a medical professional. People with long-standing chronic heartburn are at greater risk for serious complications including stricture (narrowing) of the esophagus or a potentially precancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus.
Stay tuned for future blogs covering the medical and surgical treatments of GERD.