Of the many things that mimic the pain of a heart attack, heartburn is the most common. Even the name “heartburn” sounds suspiciously like a heart attack.
What is Heartburn Exactly?
Doctors typically refer to heartburn by its medical names, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and esophagitis. You may have also heard it called by the more familiar term angina.
The burning sensation you may feel with GERD is due to stomach acids in the esophagus. The highly acidic fluids and gasses from the stomach can actually burn the esophagus’ inner lining. Although the lining can re-grow over time, the continued exposure to stomach acids can cause esophageal cancer. Beacuse of this, it is important to have any chest discomfort, including burning, evaluated by a doctor. There are medications and treatments that can help relieve GERD and prevent esophageal cancer.
Differentiating Heartburn from a Heart Attack
It’s often hard to differentiate chest discomfort due to abnormal blood flow in the heart (ischemia), which can lead to heart attack, and that due to GERD. Tuning into specific characteristics of your symptoms can help. If your chest discomfort is due to stomach acids, you’ll often feel worse when lying down after a meal, for example. Additionally, large meals, spicy or acidic foods and caffeinated beverages tend to make GERD symptoms worse.
Chest discomfort from coronary artery disease, on the other hand, is usually not make worse or better by positioning the body a certain way. In addition, there is no clear relationship between heart attack and meal size or type of food or drink consumed.
Read more about heart attack symptoms.
Source:
Heartburn - A Serious Symptom. March 1999. NEJM Volume 340:878-879.