What Are the Causes of Heartburn?

Heartburn is the burning sensation in your chest or just behind the sternum. The main symptoms of heartburn include a burning sensation in the middle of the chest and an unpleasant sour taste in the mouth.

Besides these symptoms you might also have bloating, coughs or hiccups or a hoarse voice. The pain mainly occurs after eating or at night and the pain worsens when you are lying down or bending over.

However, heartburn is common, you might need to see a doctor if it happens more than twice a week and nonprescription medications do not help.
To determine if your heartburn is a symptom of GERD ( Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), you need to go through some tests and if it is GERD, you might need to have Heartburn surgery in Singapore.

What are the Causes of Heartburn?

Even though heartburn can occur due to acid reflux, GERD or even pregnancy, there are some common causes of heartburn.
Heartburn occurs when the oesophagal sphincter at the bottom of the oesophagus does not close properly and thus, the acidic mixture in your stomach travels up through the oesophagus.

Medical Conditions Causing Heartburn is:

● Pregnancy: Heartburn mainly occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy.
● Some Medications: Medications like aspirin or ibuprofen as well as some sedatives and blood pressure medications also cause heartburn.
● Hiatal Hernia: Heatila hernia is when the upper part of the stomach pushes through an opening in the diaphragm and in the chest. This can occur at any age and any gender acts as a symptom of a hiatal hernia.
● GERD: GERD is when acid from the stomach repeatedly flows into the oesophagus which can irritate the lining of the oesophagus. Over-the-counter medications and acid reflux surgery in Singapore are the ways to treat GERD.
Other causes of Heartburn are:
● Eating habits: Overeating causes heartburn as it remains distended when there are large quantities of food in the stomach which in turn does not let the oesophagal sphincter close properly. Eating too rapidly or going to bed just after eating can also cause heartburn.
● Obesity or being overweight: Being overweight triggers heartburn due to increased pressure on the stomach.
● Smoking: Smoking cigarettes can also cause heartburn as it relaxes the muscle.
● Certain food and drinks: Foods like chocolate, citrus fruits, tomatoes and tomato-based products, peppermint, fried foods, high-fat foods and spicy foods cause heartburn.

Similarly, certain drinks like carbonated beverages, Caffeinated drinks and alcohol can also cause heartburn. Simple heartburn does not require heartburn surgery in Singapore.

Even though acid reflux is quite common and can be treated with over-the-counter medications, in some cases it can become severe leading to acid reflux surgery in Singapore.

Lifestyle changes can help to control this problem, these changes include losing excess weight, eating smaller meals, don't eat two to three hours before bedtime, raising the head of your bed, and avoiding foods that seem to trigger heartburn.

You can also take antacids or H2 receptor blockers to deal with this problem as well.