Acid Reflux May Be Causing the Pain in Your Stomach and Chest

When you have acid reflux, you will most certainly feel at least some of the symptoms, as acid reflux is not known as a silent problem. Acid reflux is responsible for pain, discomfort, and other bothersome symptoms for millions of Americans on a daily basis. You may know acid reflux by other names such as heartburn and GERD, but each of these may be a slightly different disorder, depending on the severity and frequency of your symptoms.

Acid reflux is a backflow of stomach acid into your esophagus. (Your esophagus is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach.) Normally, acid should stay in your stomach with the help of a valve called the lower esophageal sphincter, or LES, which is located in between your esophagus and your stomach. When the LES is functioning normally, it remains closed and only opens to allow food to enter the stomach, or to allow air to exit the stomach. Sometimes, however, the LES opens when it should not, or it does not close tightly enough. This allows acid to reflux, or escape, the stomach and cause a burning sensation. Acid reflux and heartburn occurs daily in about 10 percent of Americans and occasionally for another 30 percent of Americans.

Acid reflux disease is a form of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is usually diagnosed when acid reflux is present two or more days per week, despite changes in diet. The medical community is not completely sure what causes acid reflux, but most believe acid reflux happens because the LES valve separating the esophagus from the stomach does not close properly, or perhaps relaxes too often. There are many other possible causes of acid reflux, too.