Feeling a painful burning sensation in your chest or throat? No, it is not always a heart attack; it could be heartburn. This happens when stomach acid flows backward or refluxes into your oesophagus (food pipe) and into your throat or mouth. So, what causes it? It has to do much with the urban Indian lifestyle. According to a study carried out by NGO Health Care Welfare Society: stressful life, eating out, eating spicy food, processed food and junk food – all contribute to heart burn.

Heartburn is characterized by a deeply placed, burning pain in the chest behind the sternum (breast-bone). It occurs after meals and is precipitated by increase in intra-abdominal pressure like straining or lifting weights. It is more common at night when a person is lying down. Heartburn is usually relieved when the person sits up. Regurgitation of the gastric contents may also occur. The symptoms of ulcers are mainly pain that can be either localized or diffuse. Sometimes it radiates to the back or to the chest.