What is heartburn and indigestion?
Heartburn is a burning feeling in the chest caused by stomach acid travelling up towards the throat (acid reflux).
Indigestion is discomfort or painin the upper part of your chest that occurs soon after eating and drinking. In some cases, indigestion can be linked with acid reflux.
The main symptoms of acid reflux are:
- A burning feeling in the centre of your chest (heartburn)
- An unpleasant sour taste in your mouth caused by the reflux of stomach acid
Other symptoms may include
- Bloating or feeling sick
- Bad breath
- A hoarse voice
- A cough or hiccups that keep coming back
- Discomfort or pain after swallowing
- Needing to clear the throat, coughing or choking
- In rare cases, inflammation of the oesophagus
If acid reflux keeps happening over a long period of time, it is called gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).
What causes heartburn, acid reflux and indigestion?
When you eat, a ring of muscle at the bottom of your food pipe (oesophagus) opens to allow food into the stomach, then closes to stop any acid leaking back up. If the ring of muscle becomes weakened and doesn’t close fully, stomach acid is able to pass back up into the oesophagus causing symptoms of acid reflux and heartburn.
Health problems caused by acid reflux
If you have GORD or acid reflux for some time, it may cause other health problems:
Ulcers in the oesophagus
These are open sores in the lining of the oesophagus. These can bleed, causing pain and making it difficult to swallow. This damage is caused by stomach acid leaking into the oesophagus due to GORD.
Oesophageal stricture
This is a problem where the food pipe becomes scarred and narrow from repeated damage due to GORD. An oesophageal stricture can make swallowing difficult and painful.
Barrett’s Oesophagus
This is a problem where repeat damage from acid reflux causes changes in the cells lining the oesophagus. It’s estimated that about 1 in every 10 people with GORD will develop Barrett’s oesophagus, usually after many years.
Barrett’s oesophagus doesn’t usually cause symptoms other than those caused by GORD. However, there’s a small risk that the changed cells could become cancerous in the future (see below).
Oesophageal Cancer
Oesophageal cancer is a type of cancer affecting the oesophagus (gullet) – the long tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. It mainly affects people in their 60s and 70s and is more common in men than women.
It’s estimated that 1 in every 10-20 people with Barrett’s oesophagus will develop oesophageal cancer within 10-20 years.
*information from NHS Inform.