Severe Heartburn Means Cancer

Heartburn can be both extremely both painful and fatiguing. Generally, people suffer from some degree of heartburn. Medical data indicates that most people get occasional heartburn at some time in their life. However many of these heartburn episodes go away by themselves or with the help of a minimum of medication. Severe heartburn is a sign of a more advanced illness known to medical personnel as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Here, conventional medicine is often weak in providing any positive benefit for severe Heartburn cases.

What is the real, underlying problem?

The weakening or the instability of the muscle separating the esophagus from the stomach means that stomach juices including acid reflux back into the esophagus. Ulceration of the esophagus is then the result because of the acid corrosion caused by the acidic stomach matter. The root of the problem is therefore typically the sphincter or one-way muscular valve that should block off the stomach from the esophagus. In severe cases, there may even be a pre-cancer condition known to doctors as Barrett's esophagus, and which necessitates immediate medical attention.

Other factors of Heartburn
People with asthma can make the situation even worse. This is because if the backward reflux of acid contents reaches the upper part of the esophagus, then the result may be fits of wheezing, hoarseness and drive coughing.

===>>> News: The Connection Between Asthma and Heartburn GERD

Which kind of people are more at risk of contracting heartburn?
There are several medical conditions that will bump up the risk of serious heartburn. Risk factors include hernias and diabetes as well as incorrect eating, such as too much fast food. Diseases of the auto immune system such as Raynaud Phenomenon, sceloderma and the CREST syndrome can all negatively impact this condition.

Right Heartburn Remedy
Because they do not take into consideration the long term causes, and may even have serious side effects when they are taken, modern medicines may even worsen the situation. And as most medications prescribed by physicians target only the symptoms of heartburn, they only really have a role to play in short term relief.

Heartburn sufferers are advised to limit or avoid intake of food that is fatty, high in caffeine, high in alcohol content, in chocolate, mint or sherbet, as well as eating less of the acid-type foods such as tomatoes, oranges, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Recent investigations have suggested that a correct diet, a healthy lifestyle and a holistic program which may include herbs and vitamins supplements are what is required to permanently cure severe GERD-related heartburn.

Jeff Martin is a medical researcher, certified nutritionist, health consultant and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Heartburn No More- Open The Door To an Acid Reflux Free Life". Jeff has written dozens of holistic health articles and has been featured in ezines and print magazines, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.

To Learn More About Jeff Martin´s Unique 5-Step Holistic Acid Reflux Cure System Visit: Heartburn and Acid Reflux

True Story About A Patient Overcoming GERD problem

Many people like Beth (which you can watch the video below) thought that their heartburn problem was a simple case and did not really bother about it.

When the symptoms got worse, they started to find something is serious about it.

Click this video to learn more about it: True Life Story: GERD

News: Acid Reflux Pills Related to Increased Fracture Risk

(NewsInferno.com - 12 Aug 2008) - We have been reporting on drugs such as Prilosec and Nexium—part of a class of drugs called Proton Pump Inhibitors, or PPIs—that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigated for a suspected link between cardiac trouble and PPIs.  Also, because such drugs may be overly effective at stopping stomach acid production, they have been know to raise pneumonia, bone loss, and fracture risk; this, by over 40 percent in patients on long-term use.

Now, a new Canadian study of PPIs such as Aciphex, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, and Protonix and osteoporosis-related fractures has revealed a link between long-term use of PPis and increased risk for such fractures of the hip, wrist, or spine.  The link appeared in patients taking PPIs after about seven years.  PPI drug makers claim they haven’t seen increased osteoporosis-related fracture risk in people using their products.

The study included about 63,000 adults aged 50 and older in Manitoba, Canada, and also included about 15,300 patients who sustained an osteoporosis-related fracture of the hip, spine, or wrist from 1996 to 2004.  The researchers, including University of Manitoba’s Laura Targownik, MD, MSHS, also reviewed participants’ prescription records and found that those who received an osteoporosis-related fracture were nearly twice as likely to have taken a PPI for at least seven years; those on PPIs for six or less were not linked to fracture risk.  Those with hip fractures were 62% more likely to have used a PPI for at least five years.

It remains unclear how PPIs might increase fracture risk, but some experts believe it may be related to their stomach acid inhibiting qualities.  Targownik’s team speculates that PPIs speed up bone mineral loss; however, the study doesn’t prove this.  Also, the researchers considered a variety of other factors, including participants’ other prescriptions, medical history, and income.

Meanwhile, long-term PPI use and fracture risk have been linked in previous research and that association “is certainly a strong basis for encouraging further investigation,” write the editorialists, who included J. Brent Richards, MD, of Canada’s McGill University.  “Certainly, at one extreme, such as in patients with bleeding ulcers, the beneficial effects may far outweigh the risks associated with fractures,” the editorial states. “At the other extreme, liberal prescription of proton pump inhibitors for nebulous disorders for extended periods of time is likely worth revisiting.”

Targownik’s study doesn’t specify which PPIs the patients took.  AstraZeneca, maker of Nexium responded, “AstraZeneca does not agree with the conclusion of the CMAJ study,” said spokeswoman Corey Windett   Judee Shuler, senior director of corporate communications for Eisai Inc., maker of Aciphex, said the results “warrant further study, as these fractures are important medical issues that can occur for a variety of reasons.

According to an editorial published along with the study and that appeared in the Canadian Medical Association’s journal, CMAJ , additional research is needed.  Until then, they suggest patients and their doctors reevaluate the risks and benefits of long-term PPI use.

Heartburn and GERD video summary

What Are Heartburn and GERD?

Hosted by Dr. Roshini Raj, Gastroenterology


When you eat a meal, your stomach processes the food you eat. It does this, in part, by using the acid it produces called hydrochloric acid. Your stomach has a special lining that protects you from it, but other organs do not. You also have a muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter valve, or LES valve, which generally acts like a one way door that allows food into the stomach.

When the LES valve is not working properly, acid can travel up into the esophagus. This is called "reflux." This acid burns and irritates the esophagus, causing the pain we call heartburn.

If heartburn occurs more than a couple of times a week, or in the middle of the night, then you may have a more serious condition called GERD, or Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease. If left untreated, GERD can lead to esophageal cancer.


Symptoms of GERD
The most common symptom of GERD is frequent heartburn: this is a burning pain in your chest, which can also be felt sometimes in the throat. It often occurs at night or when lying down and may be accompanied by a sour taste in your mouth.

Other symptoms include:

• Difficulty swallowing
• Coughing, wheezing, hoarseness or sore throat
• Regurgitation, or a sensation of food or liquid backing up from your stomach into your throat.

===>>>  Heartburn Symptoms - How Initial Diagnosis is Critical to Your Health

Treating Heartburn and GERD

Lifestyle Changes

- Control Your Weight.
Excess pounds put pressure on your abdomen, pushing your stomach up and causing acid to back up into your esophagus.

- Eat Smaller Meals.
Overfilling the stomach increases pressure on that LES valve at the top of your stomach, forcing it open and letting acid into the esophagus.

- Loosen Your Belt.
Clothing that fits too tightly around your waist also puts pressure on your LES valve.

- Keep Track Of ‘Food Triggers.’ You might know that fried and spicy foods can trigger heartburn. But so can chocolate, peppermint, garlic, and onion. Alcohol and caffeine are also heartburn triggers. Figure out what you’re specific triggers are.

- Stay Upright After Eating. It’s a good idea to wait three to four hours after eating before going to bed.

- Raise The Head Of Your Bed. An elevation of about six to nine inches puts gravity to work for you. Use a wooden or cement block under the head of your bed, or a foam wedge under the head of your mattress. Don’t use pillows since they will only raise your head and not your midsection.

- Stop Smoking. Smoking decreases your saliva, and saliva helps protect your esophagus by neutralizing the acid. Smoking also increases your risk of esophageal cancer.


Home Remedies
A lot of people use home remedies like drinking baking soda in water, soda, or milk to help heartburn. These may give you temporary relief, but usually end up making it worse by adding more pressure to the stomach and causing acid reflux.


Medications
For occasional cases of mild heartburn, "over the counter" remedies may work best.

- Antacids. These neutralize stomach acid and can provide quick relief.

- H-2 Receptor Blockers. These medications are a stronger type of antacid. If you have GERD, they can help to reduce or eliminate symptoms, as well as heal an inflamed esophagus. H-2 receptor blockers can actually reduce the production of acid in your stomach. They are available in over-the-counter and prescription strength for GERD. They don't act as quickly as regular antacids, but they do last longer.

- Proton Pump Inhibitors. These medications can block acid production completely and allow time for a damaged esophagus to heal. This medication was only available by prescription, but is now also available in an over-the-counter strength.

These, like all medications, can cause some side effects, so talk to your doctor about which option is best for you.


Surgery
If have a severe case of GERD, your doctor may recommend surgery. The most common procedure is called fundoplication surgery, which applies pressure to the LES valve and reduces reflux. In many cases this can be done without large incisions by performing a laparoscopic operation.

It's important to know that the symptoms of heartburn can mimic other more serious problems, including heart attacks. So, if your symptoms seem like more than just reflux, or if you’re losing weight or having trouble swallowing or breathing, you should discuss it with your doctor.


HealthiNation offers health information for educational purposes only; this information is not meant as medical advice. Always consult your doctor about your specific health condition.

What Are Heartburn and GERD?

If you get a burning feeling in your stomach following a meal, you may have heartburn or GERD. Many people are still quite ignorant about heartburn and GERD. This great video can teach you what these are and why it's critical you know the difference.
 

What are Heartburn and GERD?

Tomorrow, we will put up the summary of the video. Meantime, enjoy the video.

Is Acid Reflux Overtreated and Overdiagnosed In Children?

This interesting article that I saw in HealthCentral. Beth Anderson shared her views about whether acid reflux being over diagnosed in young children.

About three years ago, the comments and discussion came out in the open. Beth Anderson attended a session of the American Academy of Pediatrics where Judith Sondheimer, was updating pediatricians on the latest news in pediatric gasteroenterology. Dr. Sondheimer is a pediatric gastroenterologist in Denver and is also the editor of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Dr. Sondheimer not only gave an update on reflux and several other gastrointestinal problems, she also talked at length about the over diagnosis of reflux. She was very disturbed by parents coming into her office insisting that their children need medications for reflux.

Dr. Sondheimer was also wary about public awareness campaigns educating parents about reflux in children. She was adamant that most babies who spit up are happy spitters and do not need to be treated. It seemed to be her belief that public awareness campaigns were leading parents to think that all children with even mild spitting up need treatment.

It was very interesting to hear what some gastroenterologists are thinking, but it was also disappointing that they seemed to blame the parents, the parent groups and the pharmaceutical companies. Yes, they have a few anecdotes about pushy parents, but our members have hundreds and hundreds of stories about having to fight for their child to get a diagnosis and treatment. A recent study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition confirmed that parents often report a significant time delay and often have to go to several doctors.

Yes, many of our parents are frustrated. But, they are already frustrated when they call us. We strongly urge parents to work with their doctors. We urge them to be calm and we counsel them to bring charts that show how bad their child's reflux symptoms are. Many of our parents report very serious and even alarming symptoms in their children. We do not urge them to march into the doctor and demand treatment; we urge them to be good team members. We remind them that their job is to report symptoms and to be firm when they say the child has been in pain long enough. We help them learn how to be good observers and good advocates for their children.

PAGER Association has created National Tummy Ache Awareness Day to help parents learn the difference between regular tummy aches (and spitting up) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). On November 1, millions of children wake up with tummy aches from overindulging in Halloween candy. This is the perfect opportunity to talk to your child about whether their tummy feels this bad more than occasionally.

Much of our effort is spent on public awareness and education. The article in the Wall Street Journal will help children with reflux get a proper diagnosis.

If you are interested, you may want to get this book which focus on acid reflux in children:

The Reflux Book: A Parent's Guide to Gastroesophageal Reflux

Pain the chest, upper abdomen, a sign of heartburn

When there is unexplained pain in the chest or upper gastrointestinal tract, that may be a sign of an increased risk of death from alcohol-related causes, pneumonia or lung cancer.


Thus, people with these symptoms are likely to be hospitalized for "ischemic" heart disease - the type of heart disease caused by restricted blood flow in heart arteries which Dr. Estrid Muff Munk and colleagues from Aarhus University Hospital found.

The researchers noticed that when a patient with pain in the chest or the upper abdomen has normal results on a test called endoscopy, in which a scope is used to view the inside of the esophagus and the stomach, the pain may be due to undiagnosed ischemic heart disease.

To date, studies have shown that patients with this type of pain and normal upper endoscopy results have not excluded those with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or ulcers, they add. "Thus, it is uncertain whether all study subjects had truly unexplained pain."


To address this issue, researchers looked at heart disease risk and death over a 10-year period in 386 patients with pain in the chest or upper abdomen, normal upper endoscopy and no existing heart disease, and 3,793 control patients. They excluded patients with reflux, heartburn or other symptoms of GERD or ulcers.

The patients with unexplained pain were 60 percent more likely to be hospitalized over the next 10 years. They also were more than twice as likely to die within the first year of their endoscopy, while mortality risk was elevated for up to five years after the test.

Their risk of death from alcohol dependence, pneumonia or lung cancer was triple that of the general population.

Unexplained chest pain and upper abdominal pain in patients with a normal endoscopy test "is a strong marker for ischemic heart disease and increased mortality," they conclude.

[SOURCE: BMC Gastroenterology, published online July 15, 2008.]

Thus, I believe that once you start to experience the symptoms that indicate you may be having heartburn acid reflux problem, it is best to consult your doctor

Learn GERD Triggers and Avoid Heartburn

When it comes to preventative action, you need to learn GERD triggers that affect your body the most and cause your symptoms to become aggravated. There are many different theories on the cause of acid reflux – but the majority focus on the behaviors and condition of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES - a valve-like muscle which is located at the top of the stomach where the esophagus and the stomach meet).

Acid reflux tends to occur when the LES valve is functioning abnormally and allowing stomach acids, pancreatic digestive juices, bile salts, and even food to rise up into the esophagus. Such abnormal functioning can include a lower-than-normal pressure in the valve, or it may open at inappropriate times for some reason.

If you have a condition called a hiatal hernia, your sphincter may have displaced into your chest, causing it to function abnormally. When acid reflux occurs and the aforementioned substances rise up to the level of the esophageal lining; severe irritation and discomfort usually follows.

There are many different kinds of triggers that can set off these irritations and symptoms. If you experience acid reflux, you should be aware of the various common GERD triggers so that you know what to do to prevent is recurrence. Such triggers can include the following, which cause the lower esophageal sphincter to relax and therefore contribute to the worsening of its symptoms:

• Lifestyle – many different lifestyle choices can cause you to experience heartburn, so take note of the GERD unfriendly activities in your life to allow yourself the opportunity to correct them and ease your symptoms. These unfriendly activities may include drinking alcohol, smoking, being overweight or obese, and slouching or maintaining poor posture. Living a high-stress lifestyle is also among the most common contributors to aggravating acid reflux symptoms.

====>> How Diet and Lifestyle actually Cause Your Heartburn.

• Diet – many foods are known to lead to acid reflux symptoms. Foods to avoid include high-acid foods such as citrus fruits and tomatoes, spicy foods, fried and fatty foods, chocolate, caffeinated beverages, sulfuric foods such as garlic and onions, and mint flavorings.

====>> Heartburn Acid Reflux Diet: Acid Reflux Dietary Principles

• Eating Habits – beyond the food you’re eating, your eating habits can also encourage or discourage heartburn. GERD eating habit triggers include eating large infrequent meals instead of several smaller meals, sudden dietary change, and eating before lying down or sleeping instead of waiting two or three hours.

• Medications – sometimes the drugs you’re taking for other conditions can aggravate your acid reflux symptoms. Drugs known for encouraging heartburn are theophylline (Tedral, Marax, Hydrophed, Bronchial, and Quibron), calcium channel blockers, antihistamines, and nitrates.

====>>Medication Can Make Your Acid Reflux Worse

• Health Conditions – these can include many different kinds of medical, health, and body conditions, such as pregnancy, rapid weight gain, diabetes, the release of certain hormones, a hiatal hernia, or even over-exercising.

To learn, simply click here: Cure Your Heartburn