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Heartburn
Category: Digestive & Abdomen · All digestive symptoms
What it can feel like
Heartburn is a burning feeling rising from the upper stomach behind the breastbone, often after meals, when lying flat or bending, sometimes with an acid taste in the mouth. Despite the name, it comes from the stomach and gullet — acid splashing up into the gullet, which is not protected against it.
Possible causes
A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.
Common causes
Heartburn can be associated with large or late meals, fatty or spicy food, alcohol, caffeine, smoking, being overweight, pregnancy, and medicines that relax the gullet valve or irritate the stomach.
Other possible causes
Frequent heartburn can be associated with a hiatus hernia, with inflammation or narrowing of the gullet from long-term acid damage, and it needs checking when it persists, because occasionally it can be an early sign of gullet cancer.
Red flags — when to seek help promptly
- Heartburn-type pain that is heavy, squeezing or spreads to the arm or jaw — could be the heart: emergency
- Heartburn with difficulty swallowing, or food sticking
- Heartburn with vomiting blood, black stools or weight loss
- Heartburn most days for more than three weeks, especially over the age of 55
What a clinician may do
A clinician will ask about the pattern, medicines, weight and any alarm symptoms. Many people are treated with acid-reducing medicines first; a camera examination of the gullet (gastroscopy) is arranged when symptoms persist or alarm features are present.
Watch: related videos
Examination and clinical videos from the MedicalVideos.com library relevant to this symptom. Some clinical footage is graphic — that is the nature of a medical video library.
Related guides on MedicalVideos.com
Frequently asked questions
How is heartburn different from heart pain?
Heartburn typically burns upwards after food, eases with antacids, and is worse lying flat. Heart pain is more often heavy or tight and comes with exertion. The two can feel deceptively similar, so any new chest discomfort that could be cardiac should be assessed as such first.
Why does my heartburn need a camera test?
If heartburn persists despite treatment, or comes with difficulty swallowing, weight loss or vomiting blood, clinicians look directly at the gullet to check for inflammation, narrowing or other changes that change the treatment.
Related symptoms — Digestive & Abdomen
Browse the H section of the A–Z list or return to the Symptoms A–Z hub.