Heartburn

Heartburn: Introduction

Reflux refers to the stomach acid rising up the "wrong way" back up the esophagus and sometimes into the mouth. Pain from reflux is called heartburn. Chronic reflux that reoccurs or persists may be caused by GERD. Heartburn needs to be distinguished from other potentially very serious causes of chest pain including heart attack.

» Review Causes of Heartburn: full list

Causes of Heartburn:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Heartburn. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Reflux
• GERD
• Acid regurgitation
• Peptic ulcer
• Hiatal hernia
• See also causes of heartburn
• Gastro-esophageal reflux
• Alcohol
• Smoking
• Pregnancy
• Acute gastritis
• Weak esophageal muscles
• Certain medications
• Stomach emptying disorders
• Other causes of reflux
• Gastrointestinal motility disorders
• Coughing too hard
• more causes...»

See full list of 147 causes of Heartburn

» Review Causes of Heartburn: full list

Causes of Types of Heartburn:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Heartburn:

• Acid regurgitation (2 causes)
• Epigastric pain (87 causes)
• Gastroesophageal reflux (55 causes)
• Pyrosis
• more types...»

Review causes of types of Heartburn in more specific categories:

• Heartburn in pregnancy (11 causes)
• more types...»

Review causes of more specific types of Heartburn:

• Severe Heartburn
• Chronic Heartburn
• more types...»

See full list of 9 types for Heartburn

Heartburn: Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Heartburn, as listed in our database. Visit the Symptom Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Symptom Checker

• Heartburn: Symptom Checker

Symptom Checker

• Heartburn and Abdominal pain (75 causes)
• Heartburn and Heart symptoms (74 causes)
• Heartburn and Burning symptoms (73 causes)
• Heartburn and Digestive symptoms (55 causes)
• Heartburn and Nerve symptoms (55 causes)
• Heartburn and Throat symptoms (55 causes)
• Heartburn and Abdominal symptoms (50 causes)
• Heartburn and Esophagus symptoms (49 causes)
• Heartburn and Pain (47 causes)
• Heartburn and Sensations (46 causes)
• Heartburn and Head symptoms (44 causes)
• Heartburn and Mouth symptoms (43 causes)
• Heartburn and Face symptoms (41 causes)
• Heartburn and Gastroesophageal reflux (38 causes)
• Heartburn and Breath symptoms (38 causes)
• Heartburn and Behavioral symptoms (36 causes)
• Heartburn and Personality symptoms (36 causes)
• Heartburn and Body symptoms (36 causes)
• more...»

See full list of 1807 Symptom Checker combinations related to Heartburn

Heartburn: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available related to Heartburn:

• Digestive Health
• more product offers...»

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Digestive symptoms (4279 causes)
• Abdominal pain (2377 causes)
• Burning symptoms (412 causes)
• Heart symptoms (2296 causes)
• Pain (5505 causes)
• Paresthesias (405 causes)
• Abdominal symptoms (3027 causes)
• Tingling (857 causes)
• Nerve symptoms (6069 causes)
• Common symptoms (7552 causes)
• Sensations (5742 causes)
• more symptoms...»

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Heartburn

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Heartburn:

• Reflux
• Chest pain (918 causes)
• Throat pain (66 causes)
• Taste symptoms (82 causes)
• GERD
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Burning chest (7 causes)
• Acidity
• Peptic ulcer
• Antacids
• Lower oesophageal sphincter
• Oesophageal motility disorders
• more symptoms...»

Diagnostic Guides for Heartburn

Medical Books Excerpts Read excertps from published book sections related to Heartburn from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Heartburn. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Heartburn

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Heartburn: Medical Mistakes

• GERD -- Health Mistakes
• Multiple Sclerosis -- Health Mistakes
• Heartburn -- Health Mistakes
• Acid Reflux -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Heartburn: Undiagnosed Conditions

Conditions that are commonly undiagnosed in related areas may include:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders that can remain Undiagnosed:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Celiac Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Heartburn -- Undiagnosed
  • GERD -- Undiagnosed
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Pancreatitis -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Hospitals & Clinics: Heartburn

Research extensive quality ratings and patient safety measures for hospitals, clinics and medical facilities in health specialties related to Heartburn:

• Digestive Health (Gastroenterology) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more quality ratings...»

Research Hospital & Clinic Quality Ratings » »

Heartburn: Research Related Doctors & Specialists

• Nerve Specialists:
  • Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine
  • Neurology (Brain/CNS Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurology (Child Brain Specialist)
  • Spinal Cord Injury Medicine
• Digestive Health Specialists (Gastroenterology):
  • Gastroenterology (Digestive Specialists)
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Health)
• more specialists...»

Other ways to find a doctor, or use doctor, physician and specialist online research services:

• Rate Your Doctor by Taking a Survey Online
• Research Your Doctor
• View Online Patient Surveys from Other Patients of Your Doctor
• Research local doctors and specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Misdiagnosis and Heartburn

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed heart attack, or from delaying too long to...read more »

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack...read more »

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different severities. Diseases in this group include ...read more »

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel syndrome, is...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called ...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but can also kill the "good" bacteria in...read more »

Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become concerned that a condition is a heart attack, whereas there are various...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's ...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety of symptoms (see ...read more »

Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis). See symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency or ...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known possibilities are peptic ulcer, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, or GERD....read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Heartburn

Heartburn: Related Rare Diseases

Rare types of medical conditions and diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders -- Rare Types:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Rare Types
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Rare Types
  • Celiac Disease -- Rare Types
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Rare Types
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Pancreatitis -- Rare Types
  • Gallstones -- Rare Types
  • Lactose Intolerance -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Diagnostic tests for Heartburn:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Heartburn. Some of these are listed below :

• Physical examination
  • Look for evidence of anemia - e.g. pale skin and conjunctiva - may suggest chronic oesophagitis, chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer or stomach cancer.
  • Look for evidence of jaundice - e.g. yellow skin and sclera of eyes - may suggest gallstones that pass into common bile duct or cancer of the pancreas.
  • Abdominal examination for tenderness - e.g. tenderness in epigastric area (midline below ribs) may suggest peptic ulceration; tenderness over the right upper abdomen may suggest gall bladder disease.
  • Abdominal examination for mass - e.g. epigastric mass may suggest stomach cancer.
• Blood tests
  • Full blood count and ESR
• more tests...»

See full list of 27 diagnostic tests for Heartburn

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Heartburn. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you had heartburn? - to determine if acute or chronic.
• What exactly do you mean by heartburn? - typically heartburn is a burning discomfort behind the sternum (breastbone) that radiates to the throat, associated with acid reflux, aggravated by heavy meals, swallowing hot and cold fluids, stooping, lying flat and lifting and straining, more likely to occur at rest than with exertion. Heartburn may be due to gastro-esophageal reflux, oesophagitis, hiatus hernia, peptic ulcer, scleroderma, pregnancy, obesity, smoking and alcohol, caffeine and some medications.
• Is there anything that makes the heartburn worse? - can help distinguish gastro-esophageal reflux (heartburn) from other causes of abdominal discomfort e.g. eating food may aggravate a gastric ulcer; eating fried or fatty foods will aggravate biliary disease, esophageal disorders and functional dyspepsia.
• ( dyspepsia when no specific cause can be demonstrated); bending over will aggravate gastro-esophageal reflux; alcohol will aggravate gastro-esophageal reflux, oesophagitis, gastritis, peptic ulcer and pancreatitis
• Is there anything you have found that makes the discomfort better? Gastro-esophageal reflux is usually relieved by antacids within several minutes
• more questions...»

See Diagnosis Checklist for Heartburn (35 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Heartburn) may include:

• Frequent acid regurgitation? - suggests gastro-esophageal reflux, hiatus hernia, gastritis or previous gastrectomy (surgical removal of stomach).
• Waterbrash (excess secretion of saliva into the mouth)? - may suggest gastro-esophageal reflux, hiatus hernia or peptic ulcer.
• Recurrent nausea and vomiting? - most likely diagnosis is gallstones, cholecystitis or chronic pancreatitis.
• Vomiting of blood or recurrent back tarry stools (melena)? - should suggests peptic ulcer.
• Pain on swallowing? - may suggest oesophagitis (especially if with hot and cold fluids) or stomach cancer.
• more symptoms...»

See Diagnosis Checklist for Heartburn (35 listings)

Home Diagnostic Testing and Heartburn

Home medical tests possibly related to Heartburn:

• Food Allergies & Intolerances: Home Testing:
  • Home Food Allergy Tests
  • Home Food Intolerance Testing
  • Home Water Testing
  • Home Lead Poisoning Tests
  • Home Heavy Metal Poisoning Tests
• Diabetes: Related Home Testing:
  • Home Diabetes Testing
  • Home Blood Glucose Test Kits
  • Home Urine Glucose Tests
  • Home Urine Ketone Tests
  • Home Diabetes HbA1c Tests
  • Home Microalbumin Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Urine Protein Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Kidney Health Tests
  • Home Eye Health Tests
• Digestive-Related Home Testing:
  • Home Stomach Ulcer Tests
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Test Kits
• more tests...»

Stories from Users for Heartburn

Real-life user stories relating to Heartburn:

• Stomach Pain After Eating
• During exersize/After Eating Chest/Stomach Pressure? Heart Palpitations
• Burning LOWER GUT as well as stomach
• persistent undiagnosed symptoms
• Heartburn or what??? HELP!
• Abdominal pain that goes away after eating?
• Stomach Pain An Hour After Eating
• Suffering in silence.
• Constant pain on left side of abdomen, worse after eating
• Stomach pain after eating for 15 years
• I am haveing trouble with chronic Nausea and Heartburn I need Answers
• My son's symptoms have persisted for 3 years
• Floor dropping Pain in Stomach after eating supper only
• Heartburn
• Burning Gut - All Over - What Is It?
• Severe Stomach pain, Left Side, worse after Eating
• suffered for 6 yrs
• Stomach discomfort after eating
• pain when i eat and drink
• ?Heartburn

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Heartburn or relevant symptoms:

• Gastrointestinal (Food - from entry to exit) (775)
  • Bloating/Distention/Intestinal Gas
  • Intense Abdominal Pain
  • Feels like a baby kicking-not pregnant
  • Help Please! Extreme Abdominal Pain/Gas/Bowel Symptoms ++
  • Explosive Diarrhea after eating
  • More user stories

Videos for Heartburn

Patient Surveys for Heartburn

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about diseases related to your Heartburn
  Take Survey  View Results

Medications or substances causing Heartburn:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Heartburn as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Diphenidol Hydrochloride
• Vontrol
• Cyclandelate
• Cyclan
• Cyclospasmol
• Cinoxacin
• Cinobac Pulvules
• more causes...»

See full list of 350 medications causing Heartburn

Drug interactions causing Heartburn:

When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Heartburn as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Alcohol and Advil (Ibuprofen) interaction
• Alcohol and Motrin (Ibuprofen) interaction
• Alcohol and Nuprin (Ibuprofen) interaction
• Alcohol and Aleve (Naproxen) interaction
• Alcohol and Naprosyn (Naproxen) interaction
• Alcohol and Ansaid (Flurbiprofen) interaction
• Alcohol and Aspirin interaction
• more interactions...»

See full list of 38 drug interactions causing Heartburn

Article Excerpts about Heartburn

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) does not close properly, and stomach contents splash back, or reflux, into the esophagus. The LES is a ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus that acts like a camera shutter between the esophagus and stomach. The esophagus carries food from the mouth to the stomach.

When refluxed stomach acid touches the lining of the esophagus, it causes a burning sensation in the chest or throat called heartburn. The fluid may even be tasted in the back of the mouth, and this is called acid indigestion. Occasional heartburn is common but does not necessarily mean one has GERD. Heartburn that occurs more than twice a week may be considered GERD, which can eventually lead to more serious health problems. (Source: excerpt from Heartburn, Hiatal Hernia, and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): NIDDK)

Heartburn, also called acid indigestion, is the most common symptom of GERD. Anyone experiencing heartburn twice a week or more may have GERD. (Source: excerpt from Heartburn, Hiatal Hernia, and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): NIDDK)

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) does not close properly, and stomach contents splash back, or reflux, into the esophagus. The LES is a ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus that acts like a camera shutter between the esophagus and stomach. The esophagus carries food from the mouth to the stomach.

When refluxed stomach acid touches the lining of the esophagus, it causes a burning sensation in the chest or throat called heartburn. The fluid may even be tasted in the back of the mouth, and this is called acid indigestion. Occasional heartburn is common but does not necessarily mean one has GERD. Heartburn that occurs more than twice a week may be considered GERD, which can eventually lead to more serious health problems. (Source: excerpt from Heartburn, Hiatal Hernia, and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): NIDDK)

Heartburn, also called acid indigestion, is the most common symptom of GERD. Anyone experiencing heartburn twice a week or more may have GERD. (Source: excerpt from Heartburn, Hiatal Hernia, and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): NIDDK)

Definitions of Heartburn:

Heartburn: SYN: pyrosis.
Source: Stedman's Medical Spellchecker, © 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

A painful burning sensation in the chest caused by gastroesophageal reflux (backflow from the stomach irritating the esophagus); symptomatic of an ulcer or a diaphragmatic hernia or other disorder
- (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Organs affected by Heartburn:

The list of organs typically affected by Heartburn may include, but is not limited to:

• Oesophagus
• Stomach

Detailed list of causes of Heartburn

The list below shows some of the causes of Heartburn mentioned in various sources:

• Acid regurgitation
• Acute gastritis
• Alcohol
• Allergenic cross-reactivity - heartburn
• Ankylostomiasis - epigastric pain
• Aromatic amino acid decarboxylase deficiency - gastroesophageal reflux
• Barrett syndrome - heartburn
• Barrett's esophagus - Heartburn
• more causes...»

See full list of 147 causes of Heartburn

How Common are these Causes of Heartburn?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Heartburn. Of the 147 causes of Heartburn that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 2 causes are "very common" diseases
• 6 causes are "common" diseases
• 1 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 1 causes are "rare" diseases
• 3 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 138 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 147 causes of Heartburn

Conditions listing symptoms: Heartburn:

The following list of conditions have 'Heartburn' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

A

Doctors and specialists: Who should I consult about Heartburn?

Depending on the seriousness of the onset of Heartburn, you may want to consult one of the following medical professionals.

Important:In extreme cases, always seek advice from emergency services :

• General practitioner
• Emergency physician
• Gastroenterologist
• more specialists...»

Classifications of Heartburn:

Subtypes of Heartburn:

Acid regurgitation (2 causes), Epigastric pain (67 causes), Gastroesophageal reflux (37 causes), Pyrosis

Medical Conditions associated with Heartburn:

Digestive symptoms (4251 causes), Abdominal pain (2052 causes), Burning symptoms (411 causes), Heart symptoms (2109 causes), Pain (5444 causes), Paresthesias (405 causes), Abdominal symptoms (3004 causes), Tingling (782 causes), Nerve symptoms (6033 causes), Common symptoms (7505 causes), Sensations (5701 causes)

Symptoms related to Heartburn:

Reflux, Chest pain (761 causes), Throat pain (47 causes), Taste symptoms (73 causes), GERD, Gastroesophageal reflux disease, Burning chest (1 cause), Acidity, Peptic ulcer, Antacids, Lower oesophageal sphincter, Oesophageal motility disorders

Medical articles on signs and symptoms:

Doctor-patient articles related to symptoms and diagnosis:

• What to tell your doctor about your symptoms
• What questions will the doctor ask about your symptoms (and why)?
• What does your doctor do in a physical examination?
• What questions should you ask the doctor about a symptom or diagnosis?
• What questions to ask the doctor about the treatment
• Steps to take to get the most out of a doctor visit
• More articles on symptoms and diagnosis

These general medical articles may be of interest:

• Medical Symptom Books
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis

See full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

Medical News summaries about Heartburn

Our news pages contain the following medical news summaries about Heartburn and many other medical conditions:

• Adult stomach reflux not influenced by food allergy
• Asthma association with reflux
• Baby overdosed in pharmacy bungle.
• Coffee, brown bread and exercise reduce risk of GERD
• Comparison trial shows Fosamax to be a winner for osteoporosis treatment

News Archives for Heartburn

Medical news articles related to Heartburn include:

• Acupuncture May Relieve Heartburn In Pregnancy
• Telling Heartburn From Heart Attack Can Be Tricky
• Blood Thinner, Heartburn Drugs May Be Risky After Heart Attack
• Plavix Plus Heartburn Drugs May Hike Heart Risk
• Health Tip: Foods That Can Aggravate Heartburn
• FDA Confirms No Heart Risk From Heartburn Drugs
• FDA Sees No Heart Risk With Heartburn Drugs
• Plavix, Heartburn Drugs May Be Risky Combination
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Related medical articles from our Disease Center for Heartburn:

• Introduction: Heartburn
• Basic Summary for Heartburn
• Causes of Heartburn
• Videos for Heartburn
• Drug Causes of Heartburn
• Risk Factors for Heartburn
• Symptoms of Heartburn
• Complications of Heartburn
• Misdiagnosis of Heartburn
• Treatments for Heartburn
• Prevention of Heartburn

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