Heartburn - what to ask your doctor
What to ask your provider about heartburn and reflux; Reflux - what to ask your provider; GERD - what to ask your provider; Gastroesophageal reflux disease - what to ask your provider
You have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This condition causes food or stomach acid to come back into your esophagus from your stomach. This process is called esophageal reflux. It can cause heartburn, chest pain, cough, or hoarseness.
Below are questions you may want to ask your health care provider to help you take care of your heartburn and reflux.
Eating spicy foods, such as pizza, may cause a person to feel heartburn. Although the name may imply the heart, heartburn has nothing to do with the heart itself. Heartburn is pain felt in the chest by a burning sensation in the esophagus. Here, you can see the pizza passing from the mouth to the esophagus and on to the stomach. At the junction between the stomach and esophagus is the lower esophageal sphincter. This muscular sphincter acts as a valve that normally keeps food and stomach acid in the stomach, and prevents the stomach’s contents from regurgitating back into the esophagus. However, certain foods may affect the lower esophageal sphincter, making it less effective. That’s how heartburn begins. The stomach produces hydrochloric acid to digest food. The stomach has a mucous lining that protects it from hydrochloric acid, but the esophagus does not. So, when food and stomach acid regurgitate back into the esophagus, a burning feeling is felt near the heart. This feeling is known as heartburn. Antacids may be used to relieve heartburn by making stomach juices less acidic, thereby reducing the burning feeling felt in the esophagus. If heartburn becomes frequent or prolonged, medical intervention may be necessary to correct the problem.
Heartburn is a condition where the acidic stomach contents back up into the esophagus causing pain in the chest area. This reflux usually occurs because the sphincter muscle between the esophagus and stomach is weakened. Standing or sitting after a meal can help reduce the reflux which causes heartburn. Continuous irritation of the esophagus lining as in gastroesophageal reflux disease is a risk factor for the development of adenocarcinoma.
Questions
If I have heartburn, can I treat myself or do I need to see my provider?
What foods will make my heartburn worse?
How can I change the way I eat to help my heartburn?
- How long should I wait after eating before lying down?
- How long should I wait after eating before exercising?
Will losing weight help my symptoms?
Will cigarettes, alcohol, or caffeine make my heartburn worse?
If I have heartburn at night, what changes should I make to my bed?
What medicines will help my heartburn?
- Will antacids help my heartburn?
- Will other medicines help my symptoms?
- Do I need a prescription to buy heartburn medicines?
- Do these medicines have side effects?
How do I know if I have a more serious problem?
- When should I contact my provider?
- What other tests or procedures will I need if my heartburn does not go away?
- Can heartburn be a sign of cancer?
Are there surgeries that help with heartburn and esophageal reflux?
- How are the surgeries done? What are the risks?
- How well do the surgeries work?
- Will I still need to take medicine for my reflux after surgery?
- If I have surgery, will I ever need to have another surgery for my reflux?
References
Katz PO, Dunbar KB, Schnoll-Sussman FH, Greer KB, Yadlapati R, Spechler SJ. ACG clinical guideline for the diagnosis and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2022;117(1):27-56. PMID: 34807007
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website. Acid reflux (GER & GERD) in adults.
Richter JE, Vaezi MF. Gastroesophageal reflux disease. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 46.
Version Info
Last reviewed on: 3/6/2025
Reviewed by: Jacob Berman, MD, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
