Symptoms of Heartburn

• A burning feeling starts in the chest just behind the breastbone (the sternum) that occurs after eating and can last a few minutes to several hours
  
  
• Lying down and bending over often makes symptoms worse.
  
  
• Symptoms are often made worse by eating food
  
  
• Burning in the throat
  
  
• Sour or bitter taste in the mouth
  
  
• Swallowing can be difficult
  
  
• Belching
  
  
• Chronic coughing
  
  
• Hoarseness
  
  
• Loss of voice for no apparent reason
  
  
• Wheezing or other asthma-like symptoms
  
  
• An antacid usually provides relief
  
  
• If an infant spits up or throws up almost every time he eats and seems fussy, the infant may have gastric reflux
  
  
• Symptoms of heartburn are often mistaken for signs of a heart attack. Pain from a heart condition is usually made worse by physical activity, but heartburn is not usually caused by physical activity.
  
  
• Pain in the chest
  
  
• Hoarseness in the morning
  
  
• Trouble swallowing
  
  
• May feel like food is stuck in the throat
  
  
• Choking sensation
  
  
• Persistent dry cough
  
  
• Bad breath
  
  

Is it Heartburn or a Heart Attack?

Chest pain is one of the most common reasons a person goes to the emergency room. While many of these patients are suffering from a heart attack, some actually may be experiencing severe heartburn.

Often, the pain caused by a heart attack and during a severe heartburn episode is so difficult to distinguish that sophisticated medical testing is needed to determine whether or not you are having a heart attack. To complicate matters even more, the two problems have many of the same symptoms and occur in similar types of people (For example, older age and overweight people.)

Possible signs of heartburn that could be mistaken for a heart attack include:

• A sharp, burning sensation just below the breastbone or ribs.
  
  
• Pain generally does not radiate to the shoulders, neck, or arms, but it can.
  
  
• Pain usually comes after meals, when lying on the back, when exercising or when experiencing anxiety.
  
  
• Symptoms usually respond quickly to antacids.
  
  
• Rarely accompanied by a cold sweat.
  
  

Possible signs of angina (severe pain in chest area) or heart attack:

• A feeling of fullness, tightness, or dull pressure or pain generally in the center of the chest.
  
  
• The feeling of a belt being tightened around your chest.
  
  
• Sudden chest pain or pressure that worsens.
  
  
• Dizziness.
  
  
• Pain may spread to the shoulders, neck, jaw or arms.
  
  
• Pain often responds quickly to nitroglycerin.
  
  
• Shortness of breath.
  
  
• Often accompanied by a cold sweat.
  
  
• Possible lightheadedness.
  
  

If you have any pain that lasts for more than a few minutes or any warning signs of a heart attack, seek immediate medical attention.