Second what Jane wrote. The consensus seems to be that heartburn is a nuisance if it occurs here and there and a dose of antiacid can remove the symptoms or avoiding a trigger food can prevent it.
If you experience recurrent heartburn, it is best to have it checked by a physician to rule out serious problems, then try to prevent it via lifestyle changes and occasional medication.
It is my (non-medical) opinion that acid reflux medication, particularly PPI's, is being overprescribed these days by doctors.
What I have read in the literature is that symptoms do not always coincide with underlying damage or pathology. That is, people with few symptoms can have serious damage to their esophagus and folks who experience a lot of heartburn only have minor irritation when endoscopies are performed. That is why I think that anyone who experiences recurrent heartburn should probably talk to their doctor about having a baseline endoscopy performed and then take it from there.
These are only my non-medical opinions based on my experiences as a patient with reflux and GERD.
Read up a lot and become an informed consumer.
Rose
