Heartburn/GERD Medications
- What Is Heartburn/Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease?
- What Causes Heartburn/GERD?
- What Are the Risks of Heartburn/GERD?
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What Is Heartburn/Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease?
- Heartburn is an uncomfortable but common feeling of burning or warmth in the chest. Although the pain associated with heartburn is felt in the chest, it has nothing to do with your heart. Instead, heartburn is caused by stomach acid.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition that causes your esophagus to be irritated and inflamed because of acid backing up from your stomach.
Next: What Causes Heartburn/GERD? »
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Heartburn/GERD Medications
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) »
Reflux Disease (GERD) Overview
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition in which the esophagus becomes irritated or inflamed because of acid backing up from the stomach. The esophagus or food pipe is the tube stretching from the throat to the stomach. When food is swallowed, it travels down the esophagus.
The stomach produces hydrochloric acid after a meal to aid in the digestion of food.
- The inner lining of the stomach resists corrosion by
this acid. The cells that line the stomach secrete large amounts of protective
mucus.
- The lining of the esophagus does not share these
resistant features and stomach acid can damage it.
- The esophagus lies just behind the heart, so the term heartburn was coined to describe the sensation of acid burning the esophagus (see Media file 1).
Normally, a ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus, called the lower esophageal sphincter, prevents ref...
Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease »
Gastroesophageal reflux is a normal physiological phenomenon experienced intermittently by most people, particularly after a meal.
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