Heartburn is a common condition manifested by a burning sensation in your chest. When this sensation happens more than twice a week, you may be suffering from a disease called acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). If you are suffering from heartburn in Anchorage, or Eagle River, AK, your qualified gastroenterologists of Alaska Digestive and Liver Disease, are ready to help.
What are the symptoms?
Heartburn occurs when the stomach acid goes up into the esophagus, causing one or more of the following symptoms:
- A burning sensation that causes pain in the chest
- Acidic or better taste in the back of your mouth
What are the possible causes?
The lower esophageal sphincter is a muscle band that separates the stomach from the esophagus. In healthy individuals, the sphincter closes immediately after the food passes into the stomach. This movement of the sphincter will prevent the food from going back up into your esophagus. When there is an abnormality in the sphincter, the gastric content can go back into the esophagus, causing heartburn.
Obesity, pregnancy, bedtime meals, spicy or fatty foods, smoking, and some medications like aspirin and ibuprofen, can increase the risk of having this problem.
What are the treatment options?
Your gastroenterologists in Anchorage, and Eagle River, AK, will recommend some lifestyle modifications alongside the drug therapy. Some lifestyle modifications that have a great impact on controlling the disease are listed below.
- Losing weight
- Avoiding bedtime meals
- Avoiding fatty and spicy food, especially at night
- Minimizing tea, coffee, and alcohol consumption
- Smoking cessation
Medications are highly effective in treating heartburn and improving the symptoms. Antacids are a group of medications that are prescribed frequently by gastroenterologists to ease your heartburn.
Don’t hesitate to visit your gastroenterologists in our two offices, located at Anchorage, and Eagle River, AK, to get rid of heartburn. Call us at (907) 569-1333 to book your appointment now.