Here
we are discussing about acid reflux and heart
attack.
There
are several disease conditions affecting humans
that have more or less similar symptomatic
behavior patterns and acid reflux & heart
attack represents one of them. A little research
on the topic may clear the confusion, leading to
recovery through the right course of
treatment.
To
begin with, acid reflux or more precisely
gastroesophageal acid reflux (GER) is caused by
the inappropriate opening of the lower esophageal
one-way valve or sphincter (LES) whose duty is to
admit food and beverages carried by the esophagus
into the stomach and not vice versa. But due to
muscular fatigue or weakness, whatever you may
call, the LES occasionally opens up (undue gas
build up within the stomach may also force it to
do so) as a result of which a part of the acidic
stomach contents refluxes (back flows) into the
esophagus when all hell breaks
loose.
The
stomach acid produced within the body ( for
digestion purpose) is a fairly strong acidic
solution (hydrochloric acid) that can corrode any
bodily organ which is not protected by mucus
membrane and that precisely what happens to the
poor esophagus which is not protected by any
mucosa at all. The result of this corrosion or
erosion eventually takes the form of ‘heartburn’
or a burning sensation experienced below the
breastbone, somewhat similar to the pain and
discomfort caused by angina pectoris or myocardial
ischemia, more colloquially a heart
attack.
Acid
reflux –Vs- Heart attack – The Two Are
Different
However,
heart attack has nothing to do with the stomach or
the esophagus. On the contrary, it can be defined
as the destruction of heart muscles due to
stoppage of blood flow there. The stoppage is
mostly due to a blockage of the coronary artery or
there could be a bundle blockage causing severe
pain, not heartburning. Although pain is somewhat
common in both heartburn and heart attack, there
are other significant symptoms which sure can
distinguish the latter from the
former.
While
a burning sensation in the chest is the forerunner
of acid reflux, no such symptom predicts a heart
attack. Though pain is also experienced during
acid reflux, it never extends to other body parts
like the shoulders, neck or arms. Heart attack
pain may spread right up to the jaw bones and is
accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating
(profuse) and dizziness. These symptoms are also
never associated with acid reflux or
heartburn.
Typically,
heart attack symptoms include sudden onset of
tightness in the chest region along with
substantial pressure, squeezing, constriction,
with radiation to left arm, especially after meals
or with emotional arousal. No such symptoms are
linked to acid reflux or gastroesophageal acid
reflux, for that matter. Also significant are
other contributory factors in relation to heart
attack that include strong family history of
cardiac diseases, high cholesterol, high blood
pressure and diabetes Mellitus. When none of these
present themselves in the case history of the
patient, his or her heartburn or painful condition
below the breastbone could indicate GER and not
Angina Pectoris.
But
where the two are the same is in the discomfort
they can cause in the chest region. Though acid
reflux is not as serious as a heart ailment, but
you should still not take a chance with it. If its
symptoms are showing, you should opt for holistic
remedies, as it provides a quicker and better
relief than conventional
drugs.
Holistic remedies treat the
body as a whole and try to find out all the
contributing factors, which can be many in the
case of acid reflux. The fact is, conventional
medicine do not treat the body as a whole and so
often all the causes of the disease cannot be
identified and thus treated. Because of this,
often it so happens that the symptoms go away with
treatment but soon reappears (since some of the
underlying causes are still
active).
