How Long Does Heartburn Last

Heartburn - what does it feel like? Heartburn is a burning sensation behind the breastbone (sternum) that can be mild or cause severe discomfort. If you’re experiencing heartburn, particularly if you’ve never had it before, you may be wondering, how long does heartburn last?

Unfortunately, there is no given time frame for heartburn. Each episode may last for only a few minutes, but for others, it can cause major problems which can last for months or sometimes, years. In severe cases, episodes can last for several days, but in a lot of cases they can last just a few minutes. Heartburn that occurs frequently over several months may indicate that you have a more serious condition, known as gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

How long does heartburn last; this depends on a number of factors. A primary indicator of how long your symptoms may last are down to the underlying cause of the heartburn. If you have GERD, your symptoms may last longer because the lower esophageal sphincter isn’t functioning properly, which allows stomach acids to creep up into your esophagus.Added pressure on the stomach for e.g. through obesity or pregnancy will cause heartburn for a longer period.

If your heartburn is a matter of eating spicy foods, it’s not likely to last as long as heartburn caused by other underlying conditions. A time span of several hours is usually adequate to eliminate heartburn due to foods, although minor lingering pain can continue for a day or two. Once the offending foods have been given the opportuntiy to digest, the heartburn should go away.

Until the cause is identified and treated, there are many of you who will experience frequent attacks. For others, it will simply come and go. Certain types of foods can trigger heartburn for some people as their bodies digest different foods differently. If you can eliminate these foods, then this may help in the number of episodes you suffer from.

The contribution of certain foods can bring on an heartburn episode. Chocolate, spicy or hot foods and saucy foods are common culprits. Start by keeping track of the foods you’ve eaten recently prior to each attack and begin eliminating them one by one. Alcohol and caffeine can also contribute to heartburn, as well as certain medications, so keep tabs on everything you ingest prior to heartburn attacks.
You should seek medical advice if your heartburn lasts longer than several days or does not respond to antacids. In some cases, more serious conditions, including heart attack, can be disregarded as heartburn. Differentiating between angina and heartburn symptoms is very important especially if you are at risk of heart conditions as you need to know when to seek medical attention.

Heartburn - how long does it last? Is a frequent question by many sufferers?” Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question. Different remedies will work differently on each individual as we all respond differently. This is also the case for the time length of the episode as we all act differently. Fortunately, there is natural help on the market today to help to decrease the severity of the number of heartburn episodes you experience.