Chest pain can be a very worrisome symptom, and rightfully so. It?s a symptom of a whole host of medical conditions, a few of which can be fatal if it?s ignored. However, some conditions associated with chest pain are pretty benign. For example, heartburn and angina both involve chest pain, but leaving one of them untreated can be a fatal mistake. So, what is the difference between heartburn and angina, and how can you tell which one you?re suffering from?

Similarities and differences

Both heartburn and angina (a heart attack) present with chest pain, but that?s pretty much where the similarities end.

Heartburn pain is generally described as a burning sensation that radiates from the chest up into the neck. It can sometimes be accompanied by reflux, or the feeling of food or liquid in your throat or mouth, a bitter taste in your mouth, burping, hiccupping and just a general feeling of indigestion. These feelings increase after eating, or after lying down.

Angina pain is more of a pressure or feeling of heaviness in your chest, associated with a whole host of other symptoms. The symptoms often come on very suddenly. They include:

? Shortness of breath

? The pain or a numbing sensation may spread to your shoulders or arm

? Fatigue

? Sweating

? Lightheadedness

When dealing with these two very different conditions, it?s important to listen to, and understand your body?s signals so that you can respond accordingly. Heartburn is nothing that you need to rush to the emergency room for, but angina is.

Treatments

If you think you are experiencing angina, walk away from the computer right now! Go to the hospital immediately! Immediate medical attention is the only thing that can help relieve chest pain due to angina.

Heartburn pain is a little easier to deal with. It can be treated naturally and dealt with fairly quickly to minimize discomfort. For example:

? Something as simple as drinking a large glass of water can often help soothe heartburn pain. It works by flushing acids out of the stomach, keeping them from doing further damage and causing irritation. Additionally, mixing the water with a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar can help speed pain relief to the area.

? Some people have even found relief from just eating an apple during a heartburn attack.

? Various teas like ginger, chamomile and fennel have also been shown to settle acid indigestion and help soothe fiery stomachs.

? To prevent heartburn attacks, avoid foods you?ve noticed that upset your stomach. Common ones include garlic, onions, caffeine, alcohol and citrus fruits that are full of natural acids.

? Try eating smaller meals, but more often, rather than just a few large meals every day. This helps prevent your stomach from overproducing acid to try to digest the massive amount of food you just threw at it.

Hopefully you?re now armed with information and can respond accordingly if you ever experience chest pain due to one of these two medical problems. However, there?s defiantly more to it than what?s provided in this small article, so for more information please visit www.refluxremedy.com and find out more!

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is generally characterized by the onset of heartburn more than twice a week. Its symptoms can be very bothersome and painful, including heartburn, nausea and regurgitation.

Heartburn occurs when acid makes its way back into the esophagus, irritating the nerves found there. GERD sufferers most commonly feel this irritation as pain. The pain of heartburn is generally described as burning in the center of the chest that can start high and move up to the throat.

Regurgitation is when the feeling of acid coming back into the mouth occurs. It can be characterized by a bitter our sour taste accompanied by a wet burp.

Dyspepsia happens to many people with GERD. It is just a general way of defining an upset stomach. It includes burping, nausea, excessive hiccups and an overall feeling of discomfort in the stomach.

Symptoms occur as a result of many day to day things.

? Eating too much results in pressure buildup in the stomach, causing reflux.

? Eating right before bed can also cause heartburn.

? Smoking can aggravate GERD symptoms.

? Certain over the counter medications can also exacerbate GERD. NSAID pain relievers ? such as ibuprofen and aspirin ? as well as vitamins ? like potassium, calcium and iron ? can cause acid build up.

? Some people with certain health problems are more likely to experience symptoms of GERD. Those with Type 1 Diabetes may have a digestive condition that slows the flow of food through the stomach causing pressure to build and acid to move into the esophagus. Pregnant women may also experience a high volume of heartburn. Additionally, there is a link between Hiatal Hernia and symptoms of GERD. A Hiatal Hernia happens when part of the stomach is displaced ? either into the esophagus or up next to it. This condition can cause acid flow and production to be disrupted causing heartburn.

? People who are overweight may experience heartburn simply as a result of the added weight on their chest and abdomen. The weight puts pressure on the stomach, causing reflux.

? Certain foods can also aggravate GERD and bring the symptoms on. Foods like citrus, caffeine, alcohol, garlic and onion are common ones, however GERD sufferers all have their own unique food triggers for heart burn.

If you experience chest pain associated with arm numbness and shortness of breath, please see a doctor immediately. It can be a sign of a heart attack, and not simply heartburn.

For more information on the symptoms of GERD, please reference our Reflux Remedy Report.

Many people want to know what causes acid reflux in the first place-how does it actually happen, why does it happen, and so on.? The answer is fairly simple, and not the most pleasant-somewhat painful at times.

Acid reflux will occur when the valve between the stomach and the lower esophagus opens up, and allows stomach acid in when it shouldn’t.? At that point, the stomach acid will rise further on up into the esophagus, causing more pain and creating the burning sensation near your heart.

Determining what causes acid reflux will vary from person to person. Some people are just born with a very loose valve. Others eat too much, and there is back flow from the valve, or have food allergies. Knowing what food allergies cause acid reflux is helpful for anyone wanting to control their symptoms.

Some patients will treat certain medications as food-which is wrong-doing so can add a lot of damage.? Things like ibuprofen and naproxen, for example, are two anti-inflammatories that if taken too much, and too often will cause acid reflux.

Consider the fact that the body will, when having a really bad allergic reaction to a food, literally attack itself.? This is true when talking about what food allergies cause acid reflux. Another way to think about it would be to consider the reaction that a person with celiac disease has to wheat or gluten.

By remembering that comparison, you can understand that acid reflux can be brought on by food allergies-and there are some that are more notorious for being a problem than others.? For example, someone who is highly allergic to dairy products-milk, cheese or even eggs-may end up with acid reflux because of their food allergy.

What happens in the case of the food allergy is that the body realizes that there is a foreign object in it that it cannot tolerate, and that that foreign object has made its way down the esophagus into the stomach. Due to the body’s intolerance of that food, the stomach begins to churn, acid moves and it comes back up the esophagus, causing reflux.

Foods that are typical allergens will quite often cause reflux.? Some of those foods are nuts, soy, fish, milk and eggs, wheat, shellfish and peanuts. Of course, there are plenty of other foods that could fit into that category, but those are some of the top offenders.

In order to find out what food allergies cause acid reflux in you, or one of your loved ones, you must undergo a test. A visit to the doctor is required, and they will usually order a blood test to determine what food or foods you are allergic to.? There is another option available, but the doctor will be the one to decide if that test is necessary or not.

Food allergies can cause acid reflux, so do pay attention to what you eat. Cut out what you can, if you think you are allergic to a food. If you notice a difference, leave that food out. You can try to reintroduce it at a later time, and see what the results are.

Did you know that your asthma could be linked to your Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)?

Truth is everything is connected when it comes to your health and environment, only some things are more obvious than others.

So let?s take a closer look!

As you may already know asthma has been plaguing children ever since the industrial age started spewing pollutants high into out atmosphere and now more than a hundred and fifty years later, asthma has approached epidemic proportions.

Yet it may surprise you to learn these days our children are coming down with acid reflux, and what?s even more shocking is now they?re developing Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) too.

Now imagine suffering from both conditions . . . whether you?re a child or an adult you?re in some deep trouble.

In fact, the percentage of GERD in people with asthma is estimated to range between 34% and 80%.

The Good News Is . . .

Leading medical experts are finding that by treating the children?s GERD, they are also helping their asthma too.

So what is the hidden connection between asthma and GERD?

There are 2 ideas medical researchers suspect may explain the link:

1) Stimulation of the vagus nerve from bronchospasm

2) Inhaling micro-particles of gastric acid

The verdict is the most likely cause of asthma and GERD is because of the vagus nerve triggering a bronchospasm. The reason being after prolonged acid reflux attacks in the throat, gastric acid erodes the protective mucus layer, exposing the vagus nerve endings.

Let me explain further . . .

The vagus nerve runs from the brain, along the jugular veins, onto the carotid arteries deep inside your neck, then into your chest and deeper into your abdomen. Besides connecting all your organs together, the vagus nerve transmits sensory information of the health of these organs back to the Central Nervous System (CNS).

80-90% of the nerve cells in the vagus nerve system are sensory nerves that keep the brain informed.

It?s interesting to note that this deep running, all important vagus nerve is the main conduit for information from the gut to the brain. In fact, seeing how Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a digestive disorder gone out-of-control, it?s clear to see how GERD and asthma are co-related.

Seriously, considering up to 80% of the time people suffer from both conditions there had to be a simple explanation.

The Brain of the Gut

The word is the gut has an elaborate brain of its own called the ?enteric nervous system? made of 100 million neurons.

Apparently the brain in your gut has vital nerve cells bathed and nurtured by the same neurotransmitters and proteins as the brain in your head.

So know that we all know the vagus nerve is reacting to the acid reflux burning through the flesh in the throat, it all makes a lot more sense, doesn?t it? Especially since learning the gut?s brain sends and receives electrical impulses, records experiences and even responds to emotions.

This whole discovery of the hidden connection between how children?s asthma attacks get better when the gastroesophageal and acid reflux disease are addressed is leading us into a new field of medicine called ?neurogastroenterology.?

Clearly when there is a gastrointestinal problem like acid reflux, or heartburn, it has an impact on the rest of your body and when stomach acid eats through the inside of your neck, the nerves are going to jump, triggering a constriction of the airways.

Now add to that the 2^nd theory above as a factor as well. If a child, or a person of any age has gastric acid splashing into their throat, mouth and sinus cavities, there?s no doubt the caustic gas and its micro-particles are going to get into the lungs.

Imagine how bad it feels to have something go down your wind pipe, but that wouldn?t hardly compare to having acid reflux droplets shower down your bronchial tubes now would it?

If you or someone you know if suffering from GERD and asthma, help them by educating yourself about Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM), because that?s the new frontier, that?s where all the hidden connections are being made.

Live well,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist