Heartburn - Causes
Last Updated on Monday, 19 October 2009 10:47
Heartburn Causes
Factors that can cause heartburn or worsen an already existing condition include the following:
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Certain foods and beverages such as carbonated beverages, caffeine, chocolates, fatty foods, mint, onions, spicy foods, and tomato sauce.
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Alcohol.
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Heavy meals.
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Lying down immediately after a meal.
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Certain medications including antidepressants, calcium channel blockers for high blood pressure, and sedatives.
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Smoking cigarettes.
Certain underlying medical conditions or diseases may also lead to an increased risk of heartburn. These include the following
Obesity: Excess weight puts extra pressure on your stomach and diaphragm. This forces your lower oesophageal sphincter to open up early, allowing stomach acids to reflux. Having very large and heavy meals or foods rich in fat content may cause similar effects.
Hiatal hernia: This is a condition in which a part of your stomach protrudes into your lower chest. It worsens heartburn by further weakening the lower oesophageal sphincter muscle.
Pregnancy: During pregnancy, there is excess pressure on the stomach. Also the high level of the hormone progesterone during pregnancy relaxes many of your muscles, including the lower oesophageal sphincter.
Asthma: Asthmatic cough with difficulty in exhaling exerts pressure on your chest and abdomen. This leads to regurgitation of stomach acid into your oesophagus. Some asthma medications tend to relax the lower oesophageal sphincter.
Gastroparesis: Gastroparesis is a complication of diabetes in which your stomach takes too long to empty. Contents of the stomach then tend to reflux into your oesophagus and cause heartburn.
Gastric outlet obstruction: There could be a partial blockage caused by scarring, an ulcer or a growth near the pylorus valve, which connects the stomach to the intestine. If the food doesn't empty from your stomach as fast as it should, the acid builds up and flows back up into your oesophagus. If this happens you may not only experience heartburn, but also abdominal pain, difficulty in eating, weight loss, nausea and vomiting.
Medications: Medications like antidepressants, antihistamines and narcotics can prevent your stomach from emptying normally.
Connective tissue disorders: Scleroderma is a connective tissue disorder that causes muscular tissue to thicken. This prevents normal contraction and relaxation of the digestive muscles and allows acid reflux.
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome: This is a very rare disorder in which your stomach produces extremely high amounts of acid. This increases the risk of acid reflux.
