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

Doctors renew focus on worst acid reflux cases

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Chronic heartburn is a daily acid bath for the esophagus, and complications from it are on the rise. With the new government figures, it show a worrisome rise in esophagus disorders from severe acid reflux.

To make things worse, esophageal cancer is continuing increase as the nation's fastest-growing malignancy.

More doctors are trying to zap away the worst damage, beaming radiofrequency energy down the throat to burn off precancerous cells.

Heartburn sometimes is a temporary problem, but it also can signal gastrointestinal reflux disease, or GERD, where a loose valve allows stomach acid to regularly back up into the delicate esophagus. Millions have GERD, which is on the rise along with expanding waistlines. For most people, acid-suppressing medications are the answer.

But severe reflux over many years can cause serious problems for a fraction of people. The lining of the esophagus erodes until it bleeds, narrows to make swallowing difficult or, worse, starts to repair itself with more acid-resistant intestinal cells that happen to be more cancer-prone. That last condition is called Barrett's esophagus, and sufferers are 30 times more likely than the average person to go on to develop esophageal cancer.

[Source - Associated Press]

Natural Heartburn Cure: Fighting heartburn, naturally

Television commercials have trained our minds to believe that taking antacids for our heartburn is a normal part of our life.

However, simple diet and lifestyle modifications can help prevent you from joining the 25 percent to 35 percent of Americans who suffer from frequent, severe heartburn, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This condition can have serious consequences if left untreated, including an increased risk for esophageal cancer.

Frequently, medications are the first method of treatment for GERD. Unfortunately, some of these medications have side effects, such as impaired absorption of nutrients including calcium, vitamin B12 and iron. You may be able to avoid medication and its side effects by taking these easy steps to make prevention your first line of defense against heartburn:

# Avoid wearing tight-fitting clothes like neckties and tight waistbands. This will give your system room to move.

# Do not eat within three hours of bedtime. Avoid bending over or lying down immediately after meals. Gravity can help aid digestion.

# Avoid acidic, spicy foods, or any foods that you know trigger your heartburn. Consider skipping the nachos during the game.

# Avoid large, high-fat meals. Fat slows digestion, and slow digestion contributes to heartburn.

# Limit alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. These substances relax the esophagus and may allow acid to creep back from the stomach.

# Increase regular intake of "bitters" such as dandelion and mustard greens to stimulate digestion.

# Always consult your health care practitioner if your symptoms continue or become severe.

[Source: Laura Hunter, BS, dietetic intern and Debra Boutin, MS, RD, assistant professor in the School of Nutrition and Exercise Science at Bastyr University
Nonprofit, accredited Bastyr University (bastyr.edu) offers multiple degrees in the natural health sciences, and clinical training at Bastyr Center for Natural Health (bastyrcenter.org), the region's largest natural medicine clinic]

Surgery may cure heartburn

This is an interesting article that I got it from The Detroit News:

Dear Dr. Donohue: I have been suffering from GERD for 19 years. Stomach acid stays in my throat. I have tried all kinds of medicines, but they make things worse. I have had acid tests with a tube in my throat that indicated an acid rise when I step out of bed. Why on an empty stomach? My sphincter muscle doesn't work. I had a procedure called EndoCinch; it didn't work. I spoke to a surgeon about laparoscopic surgery. Do you feel surgery would benefit me?

L.T.

Dear L.T.: You'd be hard-pressed to find a single person who hasn't had at least one episode of GERD -- gastroesophageal reflux disease, or heartburn, in common language. It's often felt on an empty stomach. Food initially neutralizes stomach acid, but some foods do increase acid production shortly after they hit the stomach.

GERD is like Old Faithful, except instead of water, it is a geyser of stomach acid, which shoots up into the esophagus because of a lax sphincter (SFINK-tur) muscle. The sphincter, if working, would shut and prevent the upward spurt of acid. Sometimes, as in your case, stomach acid can rise as high as the throat and mouth to cause hoarseness, cough or an awful taste sensation.

Have you tried the non-medicine approaches that can sometimes control GERD? Chocolate, peppermint, spearmint, coffee (including decaf), other caffeine-containing foods and drinks, citrus fruits, tomato products, high-fat foods, garlic, onions and spicy foods often make it worse. Six-inch blocks under the bedposts at the head of the bed keep stomach acid in the stomach during sleep. Weight loss, if needed, is another way to stop stomach acid from spurting up. Small meals, slowly chewed, help. Smoking and alcohol aggravate GERD.

If nothing works, surgery is a definite option. The Nissan fundoplication is successful 90 percent of the time. It can be done with a scope. The upper part of the stomach is wrapped around the lower esophagus to create a barrier to acid reflux. A number of procedures, like your EndoCinch, can be done through a gastroscope -- a scope passed into the esophagus through the mouth. The long-term results of these procedures aren't as well-known.

The booklet on GERD, heartburn and hiatal hernia discusses these topics in depth. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue -- No. 501, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient's printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

Write to Dr. Paul Donohue at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

Learn about the Foods Heartburn Sufferers MUST Avoid

What acid reflux foodstuffs must I avoid?

It is a perplexing question for many heartburn sufferers. Making changes in your diet and lifestyle have been shown to be natural components of any long-term holistic acid treatment and they cannot be dissociated either. A preference for healthy foods and selective nutrition to ban certain foods and eat more of others can show long-term health benefits to acid reflux sufferers.

The reduction of the consumption of unsuitable foods and the adoption of new diet habits in particular to aid digestion for heartburn sufferers could create a very positive effect on your current heartburn conditions.

The kind of food we eat determines how we can maintain the delicate and natural equilibrium inside our bodies. Certain dietary customs and nutritional habits have been shown to contribute indirectly or directly to the degradation of a heartburn condition.

These kinds of foods are:

Drinks with caffeine content like coffee. They cause increase acidity, so stop consuming large cups of coffee. Where possible, halve your cup of coffee to give two separate drinks and drink less coffee before going to sleep. Do not go over two cups of coffee per day and reduce even further if you can.

Alcohol can also be at the same time a relaxant for the LES muscle and an irritant for the stomach, causing an increase in acidity and reflux.

Foods high in fat content have a longer digestion time and take more effort for your body to get rid of them. They increase the risk of acid refluxing into your esophagus and are among the worst delinquents for triggering acid reflux symptoms. The exceptions are fish and fish oil omega-3 fatty acids. These are actually strong anti-inflammatory substances.

If you are addicted to chocolate, go for dark, organic types in preference to others limiting your consumption to two or three little two or three times in any week. Containing large quantities of caffeine and fat, chocolate can also lead to heightened acidity and degraded digestion, and thus should not be consumed.

Before going to sleep, make sure that you do not drink milk or consume any products based on milk containing a lot of calcium.

Leave aside food with strong mint. The same goes for herbal tea that is mint-based. Acid reflux symptoms can be aggravated still more by peppermint and spearmint amongst others.

The esophageal sphincter is also liable to open in response to cruciferous vegetables (such as spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli) and foods high in acid (tomatoes and oranges, to take two examples) leading to further acid reflux.

So finally, which acid reflux food has to be taken out of your nutrition? It doesn't matter what your current level of acid reflux level is; when you make the choice of an improved quality of life, you can make the choice to terminate heartburn permanently, with a holistic solution. You can move to eliminate acid reflux and put your well-being and quality of life on a different level, by making these modifications in your diet and having the right motivation to revamp your lifestyle.

The keys to solving the problem will be yours. To learn more, click here to find out in more details and steps to prevent your heartburn symptoms.

Heartburn Cures - Heartburn & Diet Part 3

Junk food?


Occasionally, but with caution, choose fat free cookies, baked potato chips, or red licorice. A good exercise to do if you suffer from heartburn regularly is to create a food diary and log your meal intake for 2 or 3 weeks. Then note each time you experience heartburn in order to target the foods you need to avoid.

In addition to making better food choices, consider changing your portion perception.

Overeating is another heartburn aggravator. Exercise caloric conscientiousness and choose to skip that second helping or fatty side dish, eat slow and drink plenty of water. Living without heartburn is within anyone’s grasp, and shouldn’t require drastic medical treatment.

Simple, reasonable modifications in your eating habits can do wonders for quelling acid reflux, not to mention improving overall health.

Heartburn Cures - Heartburn & Diet Part 1

The occurrence of heartburn is closely related to your daily diet.

Everything in your body must have a good balance and interestingly, our human body is like a miracle of systems that manage to maintain all the right conditions to keep everything running smoothly. Hence, the stomach regulates acidic digestion with enzymes that convert acids into manageable alkaline or basal substances, this creates an acidic balance or equilibrium.

However, when there is an over-production of stomach acid, which usually with the help of lifestyle choices like overeating or smoking, heartburn is likely to occur. If it goes unregulated or treated, heartburn disease can develop and become cancerous.

One of the most important things you can do to cool heartburn down is to avoid certain foods. In many cases, just changing the diet is all that is necessary to control acid reflux. Most health care professionals recommend a low-acid diet consisting of more alkaline or basal foods. Foods such as chocolate, foods with a lot of extra cheese, tomato sauce or catsup based foods, onions, chilies, caffeinated beverages, fatty or fried foods, alcohol, mint, and citrus fruits have been known to aggravate digestion, acting as catalysts for acid reflux.