What is Heartburn?

You've enjoyed a big meal and are relaxing in bed ready for sleep and suddenly, a burning sensation begins to build in the upper abdomen, behind the breastbone, and makes your chest and throat feel like it's had acid poured down it. The burning and pain may travels from your diaphragm all the way to your throat, and there is that sour taste and the sensation of food re-entering your mouth.

You're suffering from heartburn.

First thing you should realise is that despite the name, it has nothing to do with the heart. It's a digestive problem that occurs when stomach acid comes into contact with the lining of the esophagus, causing irritation.

Most people suffer from heartburn occasionally, usually after a meal.

Is you heartburn serious?

If you have heartburn once a month, it's considered mild. If you have heartburn once a week, it's moderate. It's when your heartburn occurs daily that it's considered to be severe.

About 20% of all adults will have heartburn at least once a month. often you can manage these uncomfortable episodes with a change in diet, over-the-counter antacids and weight lose.

Even if you suffer from moderate heartburn you can often find relief with these remedies. But for many people , the heartburn is severe. For those people, the simple remedies, good for mild heartburn, give only partial or temporary relief.

What Causes Heartburn?

Heartburn is caused when stomach acid refluxes--backs up--into the esophagus. This can occur for a number of reasons:

• When the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the valve that keeps stomach acid in the stomach, is weakened or relaxed and doesn't do its job properly. This is the most common symptom of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
• Certain foods, such as chocolate, fried and fatty foods, peppermint, coffee, alcohol, sugars, can weaken or relax the LES.
• Eating large meals or shortly before bedtime.
• A hiatal hernia.
• Pressure on the stomach, including frequent bending over, tight clothes, lifting, obesity.
• Certain medications.
• Smoking.
• Stress can increase acid production and slow down the emptying of the stomach.

Information source
http://heartburn.about.com/ an excellent resource for information on Heartburn, Acid Reflux and GERD