Heartburn
What is heartburn?
Despite its name, heartburn doesn't affect the heart. Heartburn is a burning feeling in the lower chest, along with a sour or bitter taste in the throat and mouth. It usually occurs after eating a big meal or while lying down. The feeling can last for a few minutes or a few hours.
What causes heartburn?
When you eat, food passes from your mouth down a tube (about 10 inches long in most people) called the esophagus. To enter the stomach, the food must pass through an opening between the esophagus and stomach. This opening acts like a gate to allow food to pass into the stomach. Usually, this opening closes as soon as food passes through. But if it doesn't close, acid from your stomach can get through the opening and into your esophagus. This is called reflux. Stomach acid can irritate the esophagus and cause heartburn.
What factors add to heartburn?
Many things can make heartburn worse. Heartburn is most common after overeating, when bending over or when lying down. Pregnancy, clothing that's so tight it puts pressure on your stomach, stress and certain foods can also make heartburn worse. The box below lists other things that can aggravate heartburn symptoms.
Things that can make heartburn worse
- Cigarette smoking
- Coffee (both regular and decaffeinated) and other drinks that contain caffeine
- Alcohol
- Citrus fruits
- Tomato products
- Chocolate, mints or peppermints
- Fatty foods or spicy foods (pizza, chili, curry)
- Onions
- Excess weight
- Aspirin or ibuprofen (one brand name: Motrin)
- Some other medicines (check with your doctor)
No. But sometimes pain in the chest may be mistaken for heartburn when it's really a sign of heart disease. If you have any of the symptoms in the box below, call your doctor.
Credit: National Institute of Health.