Do you frequently feel something burning in your chest? Do you reach for an antacid after every meal? Are you sure what you are feeling is indeed heartburn or could it be something worse? Being equipped with the complete list of heartburn symptoms goes a long way in terms of keeping your health intact.

What exactly is heartburn? Also referred to as acid indigestion, heartburn is a burning feeling behind the epigastrium or behind the breastbone. This pain at times radiates to the jaws, throat or neck. Although the symptoms are similiar to those of a heart attack, fortunately it is usually associated with gastric reflux. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, gastric reflux is the regurgitation of acid from your stomach back up into the esophagus.

Knowing the different symptoms of heartburn will help you determine underlying problems you have with your health or changes you need to make in your diet and/or lifestyle.

Heartburn symptoms are important to detect for you to know what it feels like and for you to be able to get treatment early.

Although it can possibly be a symptom of other disorders, heartburn in itself is not a disorder.

The symptoms of heartburn are many. Aside from feeling like you did not digest your food properly, the most common symptom is feeling like there is something burning in your chest.

You will most likely start to feel that there is something burning behind the sternum or the breastbone that seems to be traveling towards your throat area. This usually occurs after eating and can last between a few minutes and a few hours.

You might also have a burning feeling in your throat as well as a bitter taste. When your stomach acid travels up your esophagus to the back of your throat, it can at times feel like it is on fire.

Another one of the common heartburn symptoms is having a hard time swallowing. Also known as dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing happens when food doesn’t pass from the mouth down the esophagus and into the stomach. Instead, you feel like food is stuck in your throat, there is pressure in your chest, and sometimes you feel like you are choking.

The above heartburn symptoms indicates that it is time for you to go see a doctor since acid from heartburn can actually lead to esophageal cancer and erosive esophagitis if it goes for a period of time untreated.

Nonsmokers who seem to have a chronic cough is another symptom of heartburn. It turns out that up to sixty percent of persons with asthma also have GERD.

Heartburn symptoms are not to be taken lightly. If you have chest pain and you are not certain what it is you should go immediately to the emergency room to be safe. Even if you know it is heartburn from past experiences you should see your doctor to take care of the problem. There are of course many natural heartburn remedies you can try along with a change in eating habits.

Next time you have a bout of heartburn symptoms you will also want to try some natural heartburn herbal remedies. Many individuals find they have great results without harmful side effects some medications can give.