Heart attacks are too often ‘misdiagnosed’ as acid reflux. After all, they both cause chest pain, and acid reflux is so common that doctors are likely to think of it first.
But that’s a mistake, right?
Wrong. A new study published in the Afro-Egyptian Journal of Infectious and Endemic Diseases shows that acid reflux can lead directly to a sudden and fatal heart attack.
Researchers recruited 50 adult patients from the Gastroenterology Unit of the Internal Medicine Department at Assiut University Hospitals. There were 25 men and 25 women aged 26–58.
All of them struggled with acid reflux, but they were all free from cardiac symptoms or structural heart problems.
The researchers also excluded patients with other conditions that could cause heart rhythm problems, such as blocked arteries, serious obesity, cancer, and so on.
All patients underwent detailed medical tests, including weight, blood count, and kidney function, as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium levels.
In addition, they underwent 24-hour ECG monitoring to check their heart rhythm and 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring to check the level of acid reflux from which they suffered.
The findings were pretty incredible:
- 72% of acid reflux patients suffered from heart rhythm issues.
- The remaining 28% of the subjects who did not have abnormal heart rhythms suffered from less severe acid reflux, showing that the two conditions are definitely related.
- 28% had premature atrial contractions, 26% had premature ventricular contractions, 12% had atrial tachycardia, 4% had ventricular tachycardia, and 2% had cardiac pauses.
Tachycardia refers to an abnormally high heart rate, and these results clearly show that a variety of rhythm disorders can result, some initiated by the top chambers and others by the bottom chambers of the heart.
Since all of these heart conditions are potentially deadly, these statistics are pretty alarming, especially considering how many people suffer from acid reflux these days.
At this stage, researchers don’t really know how these two diseases are related.
Some have speculated that it could be due to the close proximity of the esophagus to the atria (top heart chambers), which may allow for the transfer of inflammatory chemicals between the two.
Others have speculated that acid in the esophagus increases nerve traffic through the vagus nerve, which runs past the heart into the stomach.
Whatever the cause, this shows how important it is to treat your acid reflux before it becomes fatal.
Fortunately, it’s quite easy to eliminate acid reflux for good, using three ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. I explain all of this here…
And if your blood pressure is too high, discover how three easy exercises drop blood pressure below 120/80—in as little as 9 minutes…