What is heartburn?
Your stomach uses a digestive fluid called gastric acid to break down your food. While this stomach acid is a key part of your digestive process, it can create problems when it leaves the protective confines of your stomach.
You get heartburn, also called acid reflux, when the barrier between your stomach and your esophagus doesn’t seal fully, allowing stomach acid to wash up into your esophagus.
This acid causes unpleasant sensations once it enters your esophagus, including:
- Burning pain in your chest
- A sour or bitter taste
- Pain that gets worse when you lie down or bend over
- Feeling like something’s stuck in your throat
- Trouble swallowing
Occasional heartburn is normal and doesn’t pose a serious health threat. But if you get heartburn a couple of times each week or more, it’s important to talk to your Encino Park Family Health & Wellness Clinic provider about it.
Recurring heartburn is the primary symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Left untreated, GERD can damage your esophagus, even leading to esophageal cancer.
What causes heartburn?
Heartburn is caused when the muscle that separates your stomach from your esophagus doesn’t work as it should.
When you’re eating, this lower esophageal sphincter relaxes to allow food to pass into your stomach. Once you’re finished eating, it should seal closed to keep your gastric acid confined to your stomach. When it doesn’t seal properly, you get the flow of acid into your esophagus that causes heartburn.
Certain foods — including spicy foods, tomato and citrus products, and fried or fatty foods — can contribute to heartburn, as can certain behaviors like lying down soon after you eat.
Fortunately, whatever triggers your heartburn, the Encino Park Family Health & Wellness Clinic team is available to help you get relief with effective treatment.
How is heartburn treated?
To start, your Encino Park Family Health & Wellness Clinic provider works with you to make lifestyle changes that can ease your heartburn like not eating in the two hours before you go to bed and avoiding your trigger foods.
Sleeping with your head slightly propped up, eating more slowly, and wearing clothes that fit loosely over your abdomen can also help.
If these changes don’t improve your symptoms, your provider can also prescribe medications like antacids to help you get heartburn relief.
Get your heartburn treated by calling Encino Park Family Health & Wellness Clinic or making an appointment online today.
