Heartburn causes

To fully understand heartburn, it’s important to understand the mechanisms of a healthy digestive system.Heartburn is believed to be the result of condition called hiatal hernia, which affects the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The LES, a muscle located at the bottom of the esophagus, opens to let food in and closes to keep it in the stomach. However, the LES muscle does not always work perfectly. Gastroesophageal reflux occurs when the LES muscle either relaxes inappropriately or is weak. This allows stomach juices to back up, or reflux, into the esophagus, creating heartburn. When the acid contents from the stomach regularly back up into the esophagus, a chronic condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, occurs. Heartburn is sometimes called acid indigestion and usually occurs after meals. In addition to heartburn, symptoms of acid reflux may include persistent sore throat, hoarseness, chronic cough, asthma, heart-like chest pain and a feeling of a lump in the throat.When this muscle relaxes too often or for too long, acid refluxes back into the esophagus, causing heartburn.

Other lifestyle contributors to GERD may include the following:

• being overweight
• overeating
• consuming certain foods, such as citrus, peppermint, chocolate, fatty, and spicy foods
• caffeine
• alcohol
• smoking
• use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen

Other medical causes of heartburn may include the following:

• gastritis - an inflammation of the stomach lining.
• ulcer disease