Risk factors

Conditions that cause difficulty with digestion can increase the risk of heartburn. These include:

• Obesity
• Excess weight puts extra pressure on your stomach and diaphragm — the large muscle that separates your chest and abdomen — forcing open the lower esophageal sphincter and allowing stomach acids to back up into your esophagus. Eating very large meals or meals high in fat may cause similar effects.
• Hiatal hernia
  
• If this protrusion of part of your stomach into your lower chest is large, it can worsen heartburn by further weakening the lower esophageal sphincter muscle.
• Pregnancy
  
• Pregnancy results in greater pressure on the stomach and a higher production of the hormone progesterone. This hormone relaxes many of your muscles, including the lower esophageal sphincter.
• Asthma
  
• Doctors aren't certain of the exact relationship between asthma and heartburn. It may be that coughing and difficulty exhaling lead to pressure changes in your chest and abdomen, triggering regurgitation of stomach acid into your esophagus. Some asthma medications that widen (dilate) airways may also relax the lower esophageal sphincter and allow reflux. Or it's possible that the acid reflux that causes heartburn may worsen asthma symptoms. For example, you may inhale small amounts of the digestive juices from your esophagus and pharynx, damaging lung airways.
• Diabetes
  
• One of the many complications of diabetes is gastroparesis, a disorder in which your stomach takes too long to empty. If left in your stomach too long, stomach contents can regurgitate into your esophagus and cause heartburn.
• Gastric outlet obstruction
  
• This is a partial blockage caused by scarring, an ulcer or a growth near the valve (pylorus) in the stomach that controls the flow of food into the small intestine. It can keep this valve from working properly or can obstruct the release of food from the stomach. Food doesn't empty from your stomach as fast as it should, causing stomach acid to build up and back up into your esophagus. This usually causes more signs and symptoms than just heartburn, such as abdominal pain, difficulty eating, weight loss, nausea and vomiting. If you experience any of these signs and symptoms, consult your doctor.
• Delayed stomach emptying
  
• In addition to diabetes or an ulcer, abnormal nerve or muscle functions can delay emptying of your stomach, causing acid backup into the esophagus. Medications may also lead to delayed stomach emptying. These include narcotics, some antidepressants and antihistamines.
• Connective tissue disorders. Diseases such as scleroderma that cause muscular tissue to thicken and swell can keep digestive muscles from relaxing and contracting as they should, allowing acid reflux.
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. One of the complications of this rare disorder is that your stomach produces extremely high amounts of acid, increasing the risk of acid reflux.

Chronic Reflux Often Leads to Sleepless Nights

HealthDay

By Robert Preidt

Thursday, October 18, 2007

THURSDAY, Oct. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Along with typical symptoms such as acid reflux, the less typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) -- such as coughing, choking, wheezing, choking, snoring, sore throat, and chest pain -- can cause people significant sleep problems, according to a new U.S. survey.

The poll of 701 GERD patients found that sleep impairment was much more common among those with GERD (41.9 percent) than among people without GERD (19.4 percent), and that about half of people with nighttime GERD reported sleeping poorly often or most of the time, compared to 36.7 percent of those with daytime GERD.

Among GERD patients, 74 percent reported at least one nighttime atypical symptom. For almost every atypical symptom in the study, more than 20 percent of GERD patients reported that the symptom occurred frequently -- more than two nights a week.

The survey also found that GERD patients with atypical symptoms were more likely to suffer sleep problems than GERD patients with typical symptoms such as heartburn and acid regurgitation.

The percentage of GERD patients who reported sleeping problems was much higher for those reporting eight out of nine of the atypical symptoms included in the survey than for these without atypical symptoms.

The findings were presented this week at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, in Philadelphia.

Know the Symptoms of Acid Reflux In Babies

It’s very frustrating to be a parent or caregiver whose baby is upset and crying if you don’t know what is wrong. Your infant does not have any other way to communicate yet, so crying is the main sign of hunger or discomfort. Learning about all the various issues that the average baby or toddler may suffer from can help, however, as the more you know, the more you can help your child to feel better. One subject that many parents and caregivers don’t know much about is how to recognize the symptoms of acid reflux in babies.

Yes, even tiny infants can suffer from acid reflux. In fact, it’s quite common, as the digestive symptom in infants is not yet fully developed. They also have no capacity yet to tell when they are full, nor to communicate this to their caregivers. What this means is that babies cannot always keep the foods and liquids they’ve been fed inside their stomachs. In addition, most infants spend a majority of their time lying down, which, as any adult sufferer of acid reflux will tell you, only aggravates the symptoms of acid reflux. In babies this is no different, so if your child seems to be suffering from acid reflux-related discomfort, try putting him or her in a seat or carrier that allows an upright position for a larger portion of the day.

It is very important to know the symptoms of acid reflux in babies, as failing to deal with them can lead to failure to thrive, due to the baby not getting enough nutrition. Allowing the esophagus to be continually exposed to the stomach acids can also lead to tissue damage or even scarring, and possibly to breathing problems later in life.

But it can be difficult to tell the difference between normal infant vomiting & crankiness and the more serious symptoms of acid reflux in babies. It’s perfectly normal for babies to spit up their food, due to the same immaturity of the digestive system that causes the symptoms of acid reflux in babies in the first place. And since they cannot yet communicate, they are unable to express just why they may be feeling uncomfortable or even in pain. If your infant’s vomiting seems to be occurring after every meal, or if he or she is also having breathing difficulties, you should consider that these might be symptoms of acid reflux, and see your pediatrician.

Treatment of the symptoms of acid reflux in babies may range from simply feeding your baby different foods and adjusting his or her sleeping conditions to prescription medications. Whatever treatment your doctor prescribes, be sure to follow instructions carefully, as symptoms of acid reflux in babies can quickly lead to more serious conditions.