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A Straightforward Explanation: What is Heartburn?

“What is heartburn? Is it a mild condition a person experiences before heart attacks? Is it another kind of health condition?” These are the questions most people ask when they first experience mild to severe chest pains. Because the pain often occurs on the chest area, many people confuse these symptoms to a heart attack.

Knowing what heartburn is can help you prevent possible panic or concern that you or your loved one is experiencing a heart attack. If you know what heartburn is, you can immediately take antacids or other prescribed medication to relieve the pain. However, understanding what heartburn is can also help you seek medical attention right away when you are actually having a heart attack.

Since many people know that symptoms of heartburn and heart attack are similar, they often disregard the chest pains and take heartburn medication. While the condition can be a simple heartburn treatable by antacids, it could also be a fatal condition. Differentiating each condition can save your life when chest pains occur.

Heartburn versus Heart Attacks

Heartburn is the result of stomach acid that reacts strongly to specific foods during digestion. When this happens, juices of stomach acid push upward to the unprotected esophagus, causing a chemical burn that you feel in your chest region.

In normal digestion, your esophagus (located from your mouth to the stomach) should never be exposed to harmful stomach acids. Since the stomach has mucus that protects the lining from acid, these juices cannot damage your stomach.

On the other hand, your esophagus does not have this kind of protection, making it sensitive to acid exposure. It does, however, have a sphincter muscle that works as a one-way valve. When this muscle becomes weak or damages, stomach acid can enter the esophagus causing heartburn episodes. This condition is called gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD.

When a person experiences heart attack, the pain radiates through the back and to the arms, causing dull heaviness in the chest region. On the other hand, heartburn symptoms are often experienced in the central chest and cause sharp chest pains. Understanding what is heartburn and the difference of this condition to an authentic heart attack is very important.

When you’re in doubt of taking antacids for heartburns or rushing to the hospital to receive a check up for possible heart attacks, it is always the best idea to seek medical attention immediately. Remember that is better to be sent home instantly with a prescription for heartburn medication rather than to diagnose your cardiac pains as heartburn episodes.