What Is Heartburn?
So exactly what is heartburn ? It’s funny that a very common condition is actually something that is so misunderstood. Although many people get heartburn, they mistakenly think that they are experiencing a coronary failure. My friend loves to recall how he was in a panic one night and woke up his wife to bring him to the emergency room because he was dying. After all that, he was given a bottle of antacids and told he had heartburn.
So what is heartburn , anyway? And why do people panic the first time they feel the symptoms? Heartburn is actually a indication of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD. GERD is actually a condition where the band that holds in the stomach contents is weak for some reason or another, and releases some of the digestive acids (along with some food, in extreme cases) which literally burn the esophagus and the throat.
How do you know that it’s heartburn? What does heartburn feel like? It’s a burning sensation in the chest that can last between a few hours or a few moments. It can cause a difficulty in breathing and swallowing and sometimes, nausea or vomiting.
While a heart attack is definitely painful, one difference is the lack of a burning sensation in the chest area. Most people that have gone through it describe it as being held down with a heavy weight on the chest that expels all the air in your lungs and makes it hard to breathe. Lack of oxygen makes the person feel faint and the hurting spreads the whole way down to the arms, rather than up towards the throat.
Any person with a previous history of elevated blood pressure should know what is heartburn and what is heart failure so as not to panic but also to be able to take care of himself. This is an important question to ask the MD so he can put you through the whole retinue of tests to eliminate any problems, hidden or previously undetected. A detailed medical history followed by a check of the blood pressure and then a session on the EKG machine. Never be embarrassed to ask such a question, no matter how silly it may sound to you, because a thorough check-up may reveal a mild heart attack that the unfortunate person may have thought was just an acid attack.
When asking what is heartburn, the next question should be what can cause it? Diet is one of the greatest contributors to heartburn. Fatty or oily foods, ultra-spicy foods, processed meats, a lot of caffeine and a lot of ciggies. The worst thing is, most sufferers dismiss the diet advice of changing the lifestyle, and some even make up stories to defend their diets and their habit. Whatever, these people just make it worse for themselves. They probably do not know or care what is heartburn as long as they get their daily dose of poison.
Cyndi Funaldi discusses heartburn remedies at her website. Learn more about what is heartburn and gerd treatment.
