What Causes Heartburn?

The name 'heartburn' can be misleading for some people, and they may assume that the problem is related to the heart. Actually, it has nothing to do with the heart problems. Rather, it is more a problem related to the digestive system. Now, heartburn can be defined as the burning sensation felt in the food pipe or esophagus because of the back flow of small amounts of stomach acid. This is a very common health disorder and affects men and women alike. However, heartburn is very common in pregnant women. It has been found that almost 50 percent of pregnant women get this problem during their pregnancy.

How Does Heartburn Occur?

The stomach acid helps us in the digestion of the food and does not cause any harm to the stomach lining as it is protected by a layer of mucus. This acid is locked inside the stomach with the help of a valve called lower esophageal sphincter (or LES). It is situated at the point where the esophagus meet the stomach. In a normal condition, it opens for a brief period of time to let the food enter the stomach and for belching. When the valve opens up very frequently or due to some problem, it does not close properly, then only there is the chance of stomach acid seeping into the esophagus. The acid that enters the esophagus causes damage to the unprotected lining of the esophagus and which in turn leads to irritation and inflammation. Thus we get heartburn.

General Causes of Heartburn

In most of the cases, it has been found that our dietary habits is responsible for heartburn. Certain foods substances like tomatoes, onions, garlic, citrus fruits, chocolates often loosen up the muscles of the LES valve. Drinks like caffeinated beverages, alcohol has the same effect on the LES. Oily and fatty foods are digested very slowly and the food remains in the stomach for longer period of time. This increases the internal pressure of the stomach and as a result extra pressure is exerted on the LES. In this way, the valve becomes weak and allow back flow of stomach acid. This can also happen when large quantity of meals are taken. Side effects of certain medicines, smoking and mental stress can also be responsible for relaxing the muscles of the LES.

What Causes Heartburn in Women?

Apart from the above mentioned causes, many women tend to suffer from heartburn due to a specific female hormone called progesterone. If you are pregnant and you want to know what causes heartburn during pregnancy then also the answer will be progesterone hormone. Throughout pregnancy, several types of hormonal changes take place. During this period, the progesterone hormone relaxes the LES and more and more acid influx occurs. Later in pregnancy, the excess of pressure on the stomach due to increasing size of the uterus contributes towards heartburn. Due to this, the stomach contents are pushed back into the esophagus. For the very same reason, obese people tend to get heartburn more frequently.

Treatment for Heartburn

There are various types of medicines used for curing heartburn. Histamines blockers are one of them. Histamine is a kind of chemical released by the body and it forces the stomach to release larger quantity of acids. Administration of this medicine controls the production of acid in the stomach and provide relief from heartburn. Proton pump inhibitors are also helpful in controlling the acid inside the stomach and thus the esophagus get some time to heal up. Sometimes, antacid are also given to neutralize the stomach acids. However, it is not good for chronic condition of heartburn. Other medicines are given to promote the stomach movement which in turn reduce the pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter.

Those who suffer from heartburn once in a while have nothing to worry about. It can be controlled with some lifestyle changes. It includes avoiding all those foods that cause heartburn, eating smaller quantity of meals, avoiding lying down immediately after a meal, etc. However, when heartburn occurs frequently, it should not be left untreated, or else it can lead to cancer.