With heartburn, I often feel a pain in my chest. Why?
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As acid refluxes from your stomach into your esophagus, it’s not unusual for heartburn to be felt as a burning chest pain. Heartburn is a leading cause of noncardiac chest pain—discomfort in the chest that originates in the stomach, esophagus, muscles, bones or organs or tissues other than the heart. The chest pain associated with heartburn is often burning in type, aggravated by meals and, unlike chest pain associated with heart disease, is not usually associated with shortness of breath, sweating, or pain in the shoulders, arms or jaw.
Important note: If you have any chest pain that lasts for more than a few minutes or any warning signs of a heart attack (e.g., pain spreading to arms, neck, or shoulders with shortness of breath; sweating; lightheadedness) seek immediate medical attention.
About the expert: Goutham Rao, M.D., is clinical director at the Weight Management and Wellness Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (of UPMC); associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPMC); and family physician at Bloomfield-Garfield Family Health Center in Pittsburgh.
Rao has served as director of medical informatics at UPMC St. Margaret Hospital. He is course director for introduction to medical decision-making at the UPMC, associate editor at the American College of Physicians Journal Club, and editorial board member and acquisitions editor at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Home Study Self-Assessment (HSSA) program in Kansas City, Mo. Rao serves as assistant editor of the Journal of Family Practice and editorial board member of Family Medicine. Rao has also served as a member of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute/Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement®/National Committee for Quality Assurance GERD standards committee.
The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis or recommended treatments. For severe heartburn or heartburn that persists after trying over-the-counter treatment or lifestyle modifications, visit your doctor to determine the right treatment for you. See the Terms and Conditions for more information.
