Living with chronic heartburn: insights into its debilitating effects

Heartburn is a common, often disabling condition. Twenty percent of adults exhibit symptoms at least once weekly. Few obtain complete satisfactory relief of their symptoms without the simultaneous implementation of significant lifestyle modifications and appropriate pharmacologic intervention. Poor sleep and chronic symptoms impair the QoL in 25% to 30% of such cases. Nocturnal symptoms are more troublesome, more difficult to treat, and are often manifested by extraesophageal symptoms. Several patients, however, unknown to their physicians continue to experience heartburn, despite lifestyle changes and taking prescription drugs. Adequate acid suppression is currently essential to effective management of the condition.