What Is Acid Reflux, Indigestion, and Heartburn?

Unfortunately Heartburn, Indigestion, and Acid Reflux are used a lot to describe heartburn pain. However, there is a difference between them.

Heartburn is typically a symptom of Acid Reflux with a burning sensation right behind the breast bone. Severe heartburn is sometimes mistaken for a heart attack by some heartburn sufferers. Heartburn is considered a medical condition.

Indigestion and heartburn are very similar and are typically treated with the same OTC heartburn medications like antacids. A lot of the times the symptoms for heartburn and indigestion are the same. Indigestion can actually cause heartburn, but heartburn can't cause indigestion pain.

Acid Reflux is actually quite different than both heartburn and indigestion. Heartburn can be a symptom of acid reflux. Acid reflux is where the acid from your stomach makes its way up your esophagus, which can cause a burning sensation in your throat. When I get acid reflux it feels like being filled to the brim with food. So I try to eat smaller meals to keep the stomach acid low in my stomach.

In my last post I mentioned The Heartburn Authority. This is a great website for all three of these digestive disorders.