How to Prevent Heartburn

Overweight people tend to be the ones with digestive issues. "Increasing body mass index is associated with increased reflux, especially in the case with truncal obesity: big bellies," Dr. Alexander says. The best lifestyle adjustment you can make is to cut down on fatty foods and lose weight. Exercise is important, he says, but certain exercises, like riding a bike bent over, aggravate reflux. Work out in a way that feels comfortable to you.

Stock Your Medicine Cabinet

If you know you get heartburn, don't wait until the telltale signs arrive before popping a pill. Proton pump inhibitors, some of which are available over the counter like Prilosec OTC, are the more potent acid blockers, but they take a while to start working. "Those are medicines to use to prevent reflux," Dr. Alexander says. For quicker relief, over-the-counter antacids like Maalox and Tums buffer the acid in your esophagus, but they only last for a few minutes, Dr. Alexander says. Histamine 2 (H2) blockers like Zantac and Pepcid block acid after about 20 minutes and can suppress acid from 6-12 hours. "Pop a Tums as well as a Pepcid to control it right away," Dr. Alexander says.

Read more: Your Guide to a Happy, Healthy Tummy

Strategize On Sleep

What's the worst time to start counting sheep? Directly after a big, boozy meal. "People tend to get heartburn when they overeat and lay down," Dr. Alexander said. Wait at least a couple hours before sleep, he says, or take an H2 blocker before you go to bed on the nights you eat late.

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Chronic Heartburn May Boost Risk for Esophageal Cancer

HealthDay – Fri, May 18, 2012 FRIDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- Inflammation caused by chronic heartburn may increase the risk of esophageal cancer, a new study finds.

The condition -- formally known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) -- occurs when a muscle at the end of the esophagus doesn't close properly, allowing stomach contents to leak back into the esophagus and irritate it.

GERD can lead to changes in the tissue lining the esophagus, a condition called Barrett's esophagus, often a precursor to esophageal cancer.

In the study, researchers looked at nearly 34,000 GERD patients in Denmark and found that 77 percent had inflammation of the lining of the esophagus, a condition called erosive reflux disease. During an average follow-up time of 7.4 years, 0.11 percent of patients developed esophageal cancer.

The incidence of esophageal cancer among GERD patients with erosive disease was much higher than that of the general population, the team noted.

In contrast, esophageal cancer was diagnosed in only 0.01 percent of GERD patients without erosive disease after 4.5 years of follow-up.

The study appears in the May issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

"Our research shows that damage to the esophageal lining ... is important in the progression from normal cells to cancer, and Barrett's esophagus is likely to be an intermediate step," lead author Dr. Rune Erichsen, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, said in a journal news release.

The incidence of esophageal cancer in the United States and Europe has increased dramatically in the past three decades. About 10,000 new cases of esophageal cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States.

Although the study identified an association between inflammation caused by GERD and increased incidence of esophageal cancer, it could not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about GERD.

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