If you suffer from acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), you are probably familiar with heartburn, a symptom that occurs when stomach acid squirts upward and causes a burning sensation in your esophagus. Since your esophagus is situated close to your heart, it can be difficult to distinguish between esophageal pain and angina pain that is directly related to the heart.
Feel the Beat
When you experience heart palpitations, you become unusually aware of your own heartbeat and feel as though it is speeding up and possibly even skipping beats. You might feel this sensation throughout your entire chest area and up into your neck.
Feel the Burn
The chest pain and burning associated with heartburn is usually due to acid reflux or GERD, but can also result from other gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation. Regardless of the source, you may also experience increased chest pain when you lay down or after bending or eating. You may have difficulty swallowing and the feeling that your food is getting stuck somewhere in your throat or chest. You may become hoarse or develop a cough.
Feel the Pain
Neither GERD nor occasional heartburn will lead directly to heart palpitations. If you feel anxious about the chest pain that accompanies heartburn, however, and are worried that it is actually a heart-related problem, your anxiety could bring on palpitations. Heartburn can also lead to chest pain that may feel like heart palpitations but is actually due to muscle spasms in and around the esophagus.
Watch Your Symptoms
The chest pain that accompanies acid reflux can feel similar to the heart-related pain of angina and, like the pain of angina, the pain from heartburn often radiates from your upper abdomen to your neck area.
To quickly assess the situation, pay close attention to the symptoms accompanying any chest pain or abnormal palpitations you experience. Nausea, sweating, squeezing pain and shortness of breath are symptoms that often accompany a heart problem such as angina, whereas regurgitation and a sour or acidic taste in the throat and mouth commonly accompany acid reflux.
What You Can Do
If you suffer from both angina and heartburn, the symptoms can be similar enough to cause confusion. It is important to note that whether or not you suffer from GERD or occasional heartburn, any chest pain or palpitations you experience could be a warning sign of a heart problem. If you already have heart disease, or a family history of heart disease, or consider yourself at risk of having a heart attack for any reason, and you feel palpitations, you could be having a heart attack. Call 911 or otherwise seek immediate medical attention.
You might experience palpitations as a result of medical conditions that are not related to the heart or the esophagus, such as stress, panic disorder or anemia. If you experience these types of palpitations, there are several things you can do to reduce their frequency and intensity. Avoid coffee and other caffeine-containing products. Engage in deep breathing exercises and yoga, tai chi or meditation to reduce stress. If you don't know why you are suddenly experiencing palpitations, or if your palpitations increase or become more intense, schedule a physical examination with your doctor to discuss the possible causes.
