Female Speaker: Dan Wagener is one out of millions of Americans that suffer from severe and frequent heartburn. Dan Wagener: It will come on in the middle of night when I was sleeping I would wake up with the burning sensation in the -- to correct it, which would take a little time, but that’s really when it began in late teens and early 20s. Female Speaker: Occasional bouts of heartburn, especially after a large late night meals are not a cause for concern. But doctors warn that frequent and persistent heartburn may be an indication of Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. Mark Pochapin: All of us probably one time realize who had heartburn, eat a little too spicy food you might feel it, but if you’re getting a heartburn frequently especially after meals or at night, or it’s waking you up from night that can be signaling that you’re actually having abnormal response and that would be GERD. Female Speaker: It’s not unheard of for individuals to go to one emergency room seeking urgent care after mistaking GERD related symptoms for heart attack. Lee Hixson: Some people experience a chest pain that’s not burning and can simulate a heart attack and it can act like angina, which is hard type pain. Female Speaker: Other symptoms of GERD may include chronic cough, hoarseness, chronic laryngitis, and even asthma. But Betty Jane Reber did not have the disease’s usual symptoms. Betty Jane Reber: Mine was not the typical heartburn. Mine was more of a constriction in the chest, very painful almost like a Charlie horses in your leg, it was just a spasm that just took hold and didn’t let go and I couldn’t get anything down. Female Speaker: People with Gastroesophageal reflux disease, the muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter does not function properly, allowing stomach acids to abnormally flow into the esophagus. These acids often cause inflammation and irritation in the esophagus, triggering heartburn, and other symptoms associated with GERD or acid reflex disease. Lee Hixson: People also don’t realize that GERD can cause changes in the lining of the esophagus that can increase the risk of cancer, which may actually have no symptoms at all. So, it’s actually a fairly important disorder to recognize. Female Speaker: Relief from GERD can come in the form of over the counter or prescription medications. Lee Hixson: The prescription medications that are available to treat GERD, I think are generally excellent. Female Speaker: Betty Jane has been taking a Proton pump inhibitor for several years. The medication has eliminated her GERD symptoms and it has also healed the damage to her esophagus after decades of acid reflex. Betty Jane Reber: As soon as I started taking it, I never had another problem; not once. Female Speaker: Dan suffered with GERD for years before he found a remedy with over-the-counter histamine blockers. Dan Wagener: If someone had actually mentioned to me taking the over-the-counter pills that are available, that became available at the time they stopped writing the prescriptions for them and they made them available over-the-counter. I tried those, taking them before I went to bed and basically, when I started doing that the heartburn stopped. Female Speaker: There is a wide variety of medications available to treat acid reflex disease, but sometimes lifestyle changes are all that’s needed. Lee Hixson: Loose weight. If you are overweight it’s a simple thing, if you can to drop some of your weight. I think the patient would be amazed; just five pounds and many of the symptoms will sort of go away.