Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu, Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital, shared: "I have continuously met 3 patients coming for examination due to chest pain. The happy thing is that after examination and check-up, the hearts of all 3 are healthy. The cause of the pain that makes them worried comes from the stomach and esophagus.
Chest pain due to gastroesophageal reflux is quite common. However, the location and feeling of pain may be similar to heart pain, causing patients to panic, even thinking they have myocardial infarction.
Why does reflux cause chest pain?
When acid and gastric juice overflow into the esophagus, they stimulate the esophagus mucosa, causing inflammation or spasms, creating a feeling of pain and burning behind the sternum. This is also an area near the heart, so it is very easy to confuse.
Chest pain due to reflux usually has some characteristics: pain or burning in the middle of the chest, which can spread to the throat or upper back; feeling of tightness, aching, stuck in the chest, sometimes accompanied by a sour or bitter taste in the mouth.
Symptoms often appear after overeating, eating fried, spicy, sour foods, drinking coffee, alcohol, bowing or lying down immediately after eating. Some people experience discomfort at night or early morning. Accompanying symptoms may be belching, acid reflux, heartburn, nausea, dry cough at night, hoarseness or choking.
Patients may feel more comfortable when sitting upright, drinking small sips of water, or doing light exercise. However, these are just suggestive signs, and it is not possible to base on symptoms to confirm that chest pain is due to reflux.
When should you think about heart disease?
Chest pain should not be self-diagnosed as stomach pain just because of heartburn or burning.
Be especially vigilant when chest pain appears for the first time, recurs with a heavier or longer duration than normal, feels suffocating, heavy or intense pain, spreading to the arms, shoulders, back, neck or jaw.
Other worrying signs include shortness of breath, cold sweating, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, nausea, abnormal heartbeat, or a very weak feeling.
The risk is even higher in people with cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking or many other cardiovascular risk factors.
In particular, people who have had stent placement or coronary artery bypass surgery, if they experience pain that is similar to previous heart attacks, should not be subjective, even if this time the pain is lighter or shorter.
If you have chest pain accompanied by warning signs, you need to go to the nearest medical facility for an assessment. Your doctor may prescribe electrocardiograms, myocardial impairment tests, and other necessary explorations.
What to do to reduce the reflux?
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu said that some factors that easily make reflux worse include eating too full, eating close to bedtime, lying down immediately after eating, being overweight, obese, wearing tight clothes, prolonged stress, smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol and some pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs.
With mild symptoms, patients may start by lifestyle changes:
Not in the 2-3 hours after eating; can do light exercise.
People with frequent night reflux can raise the head of the bed about 15-20 cm.
Break down meals, eat slowly, chew thoroughly; limit foods that cause symptoms such as spicy, sour, greasy foods, carbonated drinks, strong coffee, chocolate or mint.
Limit or quit smoking and alcohol.
Maintain a reasonable weight, especially reduce belly fat.
You should not buy medicine for treatment yourself
Not every reflux case requires medication. When treatment is needed, the doctor can choose acid neutralizers, H2 histamine receptor antagonists, or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), depending on the specific condition.
The choice of medication, dosage, duration of use, and risk of interaction with other medications should be assessed by a doctor. Do not see others taking better medicine and then buy it yourself, especially packages of medicine with unknown ingredients. Symptoms may be temporarily reduced, but the real cause has not been determined.
Don't be subjective about chest pain
Gastroesophageal reflux can cause chest pain very similar to heart attack. Conversely, heart disease can also be atypical and mistaken for stomach disease.
Therefore, if new chest pain appears, abnormal, severe, prolonged, recurrent or accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, pain spreading to the hand, jaw or back, especially in people with cardiovascular risk factors, it is necessary to see a doctor immediately.
A chest pain may originate from the stomach, but before concluding "it's just a reflux", the most important thing is still to ensure a truly safe heart.
