Nighttime heartburn, is also sometimes known as chronic heartburn. It is a severe heartburn condition that shows no mercy and occurs usually during the night. Attacks of this type of heartburn are typically severe, and last all too long for the victim. To the unwary person suffering from nighttime heartburn, an attack might even be seen as their experiencing a heart attack.
Heartburn vs Heartattack
If a person is experiencing a burning pain in their chest and shortness of breath these are two of the most important key factors that will give rise to confusion whether the person is really having a heart attack, or merely suffering from heartburn.
Despite of a heart attack is a more 'respectable' condition to which you can admit to, to the neighbors (especially if your partner calls in the paramedics!) heartburn is no laughing matter either. Heartburn, particularly one on the scale of the almost debilitating nighttime heartburn, is an equally serious disorder, especially if left undiagnosed and untreated for a long time.
How and why does heartburn occur?
In order to fully understand, you need to know how heartburn occurs and why this condition occurs. Heartburn is usually described as being felt as a burning sensation in your chest. It is often felt right after a meal especially if the person has eaten heavy or spicy meals. What happens is that the lower esophageal sphincter does not close properly, allowing the acids from your stomach to come back up. This is what we call acid reflux.
In a non-heartburn sufferer, this lower esophageal sphincter - or LES - works by separating the esophagus from the intestine, only allowing a one way passage through from the esophagus to the intestine, thereby preventing the 'reflux' of any stomach content back into the esophagus.
However, when the LES muscle is weakened or becomes permanently loose this allows stomach acids to pass upwards quite frequently. In this case the person is generally thought to have a chronic case of heartburn.
In most cases this is borne out by the sufferers themselves, as the heartburn manifests itself in the form of nighttime heartburn. This is a good indication that the person should consult a doctor as soon as possible, since this could only be a prelude to a far more serious condition.
What can you do against nighttime heartburn?
Luckily there are some proven strategies that you can apply to fight your nighttime heartburn condition. They won't be able to cure your heartburn, but they will at least alleviate the pain felt during the night and allow you to get some good sleep.
First, it is really important that people suffering from nighttime heartburn eat only small dinners.If you also don't include alcohol, and acidic food or beverages to your meal, then you're already better off. Also eating at least two hours before bedtime, and avoiding caffeine rich beverages will also help in the long run.
Another tip is to elevate the head of your bed, or even using a wedge shaped pillow to raise your torso higher than your stomach area. This should prevent you from waking in the night as well.
The best thing to do however, if you are frequently suffering from nighttime heartburn is to get a good diagnosis and help from a doctor. There's no substitute for proper medical attention, whatever you suffer from.