Heartburn & Difficulty Swallowing

by Dr. Pradeep Kumar M.D.

My hiata hernia is bothering me.' This is a frequent complaint. Many times, it means that the person is having heartburn. For 20 to 30 percent of the population, this happens more than once a month. Heartburn is a burning/uncomfortable sensation that moves from the upper part of the abdomen into the chest, usually behind the breast bone. This is Gastro-Esophageal-Reflux-Disease or GERD. Many times, pains are perceived to be a possible heart attack.

Many patients with cough, hoarseness of voice, shortness of breath or asthma have underlying GERD. This problem has two components: First, what the person is feeling or the symptoms, and second, the damage to the food pipe or Esophagitis. In some cases, this leads to ulcers and scarring. This could lead to narrowing of the food pipe. Difficulty swallowing can be associated with it. In some cases, the food gets stuck in a way that an emergency treatment is required.

The severity of the symptoms does not tell us how bad the injury to the food pipe is. In fact, only mild or moderate symptoms could be associated with severe injury to the food pipe. In some cases, the changes in the food pipe could be pre-cancerous in nature. This needs to be closely followed.

The longer the duration of symptoms, the more likely it is that the problem could be serious. Symptoms for more than a few months should be evaluated.

The best way to evaluate for the changes in the food pipe or esophagitis is to do an endoscopy or EGD. This is a test done by a specialist in digestive disorders. A flexible thin scope is used to look into the food pipe, stomach and the small intestine. This procedure is also helpful in looking for ulcers, cancers, bleeding and other problems. The procedure done under sedation and in skilled hands, is quick and painless. In fact, virtually none of my patients feel the test and wonder when it happened.

The procedure is also used to treat the narrowing in the food pipe. The narrowing can be stretched without surgery and this relieves the difficulty swallowing in majority of the patients.

The acid related injury to the food pipe needs to be properly treated and followed. If not diagnosed, some of the problems become more serious including cancer of the food pipe. When properly treated, the person starts to feel well and quality of life improves. Problems diagnosed early allow better treatment.

Dr. Pradeep Kumar is a Board Certified Gastroenterologist in the Greensburg/Jeannette. He sees patients in his office and at Lowry Surgicenter in Jeannette at 724-527-2885. Please call his office at 724-837-8118 to make an appointment.