Heartburn can be mistaken for coronary artery disease because it can mimic angina, or chest pain

Heartburn can be described as a discomfort, heaviness, pressure, aching, burning, fullness, squeezing, or painful feeling in your chest accompanied by shortness of breath.

The difference between heartburn and angina is that angina, which is usually felt in the chest area, may also be felt in the shoulders, arms, neck, throat, jaw, or back.

So there’s no confusion, I’ve listed other symptoms of coronary artery disease:

* Shortness of breath

* Palpitations (irregular heart beats, skipped beats, or a “flip-flop” feeling in your chest)

* A faster heartbeat

* Weakness or dizziness

* Nausea

* Sweating

It is possible that a severe acid rebound event, in the right situation could cause gastric acid particles to go down the wind pipe triggering a severe coughing spell that not only may feel like an attack of angina, but could end up causing heart failure either from suffocation or overstressing an already weakened heart condition.

Acid reflux, heartburn and the acid rebound disease Over-The-Counter (OTC) antacids can induce are very serious health concerns.

I realize the drug companies have disarmed your natural sense of alarm on the subject of heartburn, but it still drastically affects your quality of life. Not only has heartburn become a casual term, it still leads to Gastric-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), which can also end up as terminal throat cancer.

If you’re lucky you’ll just end up with a radical surgery that will permanently ruin your quality of life, as well as shorten life expectancy.

Then there’s what doctors call “chemical pneumonia.”

Also called “chemical pneumonitis,” which is inflammation of the lungs ?due to inhaling chemical fumes, or aspirating (breathing in and choking on) gastric acid from the stomach, mineral oil, gasoline, or other damaging chemicals.

Yes your stomach acid is equal to an industrial strength chemical, hydrochloric acid. When it’s in a gastric form the fumes can permanently damage your lungs. Once the stomach acid particles are splashed, inhaled or coughed into the lungs an immune reaction begins in an effort to fight off the noxious chemical attack.

This can lead to too many white blood cells (cytokines), severe inflammation and enough mucus to choke a horse.

Chronic chemical pneumonitis can happen after exposure to small amounts of acid reflux particles or fumes causing irritation over a long length of time. This triggers inflammation and may cause “fibrosis” (scarring) which makes it difficult for the lungs to get oxygen to the body and release carbon dioxide as waste, leading to a stiffening of the lung.

Unchecked, this long term exposure to gastric acid fumes and acid reflux may ultimately lead to respiratory failure and death.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist

I once saw my best friend go through a hiatal hernia attack, which put us both into a state of panic. What do you do when your friend suddenly acts like he?s dying but nobody knows what?s wrong.

He was choking up meat he had just eaten within the hour and had trouble breathing in. I could see the pain and pressure was freaking him out, the look in his eyes and the recurring spasms of violent choking had concerned me as well.

I would have called an ambulance, but he insisted it was over, then it would start again and again- it was nerve racking to say the least, for both of us.

I kept asking him questions, but he could hardly talk. I could tell my asking questions was about the most irritating thing I could be doing, because he obviously had trouble talking as well. There?s nothing like being interviewed while you feel like your choking to death, or dying from a heart attack- we didn?t know.

In between his hiatal hernia attacks all I could do is get on the Internet to see what I could learn fast.

I had never understood what a hernia was, but it didn?t take me long to match the symptoms he was having with the definition of hiatal hernia. Of course, when I told him I thought he was suffering from symptoms of a hiatal hernia, he just looked at me like I was out of my mind.

The situation was bad, he couldn?t relax, sit down or lay down at all, he just kept pacing, leaning against the wall holding his chest area or rushing to the bathroom to choke up his lunch bit by bit.

Today I could recognize the symptoms of hiatal hernia a mile away and now I understand why a hernia caused all those symptoms.

Once I ?Googled? the correct information about hiatal hernia symptoms, I had him dropping his heels, jumping on his wife?s exercise trampoline and finally stretching backwards over her giant grape purple yoga ball . . . and it worked like a charm.

The bouncing and stretching allowed gravity to do its trick, restoring his stomach, esophagus and diaphragm back to their original positions, below in his chest cavity.

Here?s some extra advice for those of you with hiatal hernia symptoms . . . make sure you chew your food better. It?s better for you because the digestive process starts in the mouth as enzymes and saliva to help break down the size and bulk of your food to make it easier on your gut to digest.

When the esophagus or stomach slides or rolls past the diaphragm and bulges upward in your chest cavity, there may be undigested food in that area that can?t go back down below the diaphragm muscle junction. So the better you chewed it, the easier it may be for you to swallow or eliminate any obstructive food stuff.

My friend was very fortunate the food trapped in his throat area didn?t go down his wind pipe . . .I?m sure under the circumstances his hiatal hernias symptoms would have been fatal.

Not a choice way to sign off in my book, especially on my shift!

Let?s review the symptoms published by the Mayo clinic:

• Heartburn
• Belching
• Chest pain
• Nausea

If you have hiatal hernia symptoms chew your food, walk and jump more and keep a giant grape purple yoga ball around just in case, of course the grape purple color is optional.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist

Acid reflux is a medical condition in which the patient?s lower esophageal sphincter (LES) does not close after taking in food. All of the food we eat passes into our stomach through the LES, and if it does not close, the acid produced inside of our stomach can reach to our esophagus causing acid reflux disease. This can lead to heartburn, chest pain, and a multitude of other conditions, so it is extremely important to ask yourself: what are good foods to eat with acid reflux?

Preparing a diet regimen for treating acid reflux can be intimidating, and the problem may increase if you have any kind of food allergy. Normally acid reflux flares up post meal, hence it is important to have food that discourages reflux. Those suffering from this disease should have food in small amounts, spreading their meals throughout the day instead of having two or three large meals per day. If you take small amounts of food throughout the day, you will experience less stomach distension and lower acid levels. These techniques will ease pain and peripheral conditions that manifest through acid reflux.

An acid reflux reducing diet consists of all the essential food groups- fruits, vegetables, grains, meats and dairy products. However, some of the specific items under these groups are not prescribed. People suffering from acid reflux disease, are asked to avoid drinks containing caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and peppermint. One should also avoid foods with a high fat or grease content because they are harder to digest and cause your body to produce even more acid.

When you ask your doctor: ?what are good foods to eat with acid reflux?? he or she will normally recommend grains that have a low fat content like rice, multigrain, corn, oats, graham crackers, unseasoned pretzels and bran. White bread, rice cakes, and low fat dairy products are also good for patients suffering from acid reflux. Cabbage, celery, fennel, peas, green beans, broccoli, carrots and cabbage can be included in the diet, and fruits like bananas, apples, peaches, berries, melons are also great choices. Citrus fruits must be avoided since they aggravate the problem.

Feta cheese, cheese prepared from soy and vegetables can be eaten, while ice cream, whole milk and chocolates must be avoided. If you must eat meat, keep it low fat, like skinless boneless white meat chicken, low fat fish, egg whites, London Broil steaks and lean ground beef. Many people use a wide variety of seasonings, toppings, and condiments while preparing food. However, you must remember that these should also contain a low percentage of fat.

Avoiding chocolate based desserts is mandatory. Jelly beans, pudding, baked chips, cookies, fat free snacks, sweets, sorbet and yogurt containing low fat are allowed. When wonder what are good foods to eat with acid reflux, you should include high fibrous foods since it clears the stomach nicely and is filling at the same time. Food items like strawberries, scallions, ham, scrambled egg, Mozzarella and Cottage cheese, muffins and root beer can be eaten in moderation.