Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

You’ve just gone to bed after a late night dinner at a restaurant when it happens: that unpleasant burning sensation in your chest called heartburn. Despite its name, heartburn has nothing at all to do with your heart. Rather, it involves a band of muscles in the lower part of your esophagus (the lower esophageal sphincter, or LES). Normally when you swallow, your LES relaxes to allow food or liquid to enter your stomach, then closes again. Heartburn occurs when your LES relaxes at inappropriate times or becomes weak, allowing stomach acid to flow back into your esophagus, resulting in heartburn.

Almost everyone is affected by mild heartburn at one time or another. However, chronic or severe heartburn may be a sign of a serious medical problem called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Untreated, GERD can eventually irritate and inflame your esophagus, form scar tissue, cause esophageal ulcers, and increase your risk of esophageal cancer.

Who Is Affected By GERD?

 Anyone, from babies to older adults, can be affected by GERD. By one estimate, one out of every 10 adults has it at least once a week. In addition, certain health conditions that affect the gastrointestinal tract can put a person at higher risk of heartburn or GERD. These include:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Hiatal hernia
• Pregnancy
• Asthma
• Peptic ulcer
• Certain connective tissue disorders
• Delayed stomach emptying
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome

Managing GERD

Fortunately, in many cases, GERD can be effectively treated with certain lifestyle changes. For example, you can:

• Raise the head of your bed by about six inches. (Bed risers are inexpensive and can be found at many home goods stores.) Do not use pillows to sit upright—this will actually aggravate GERD by putting pressure on your abdomen.
• Change the amount of food you eat and adjust your mealtimes. Eat smaller portions. Have your last meal three to four hours before bedtime and avoid bedtime snacks.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Excess pounds can also put unnecessary pressure on your abdomen.
• Avoid foods that relax the LES muscles, such as fatty foods, caffeine, chocolate, peppermint, and alcohol.
• Wear lose clothing
• Quit smoking. Smoking relaxes the LES muscles.

If you think you have GERD, speak with your healthcare provider. He or she can help you develop a therapeutic lifestyle change program that can help you manage your condition naturally.