Health Conditions

What are the risk factors?

Risk factors are characteristics that may increase your chance for developing a condition. Risk factors for GERD include:

• drinking alcoholic beverages and coffee
• smoking
• eating foods with a high acid content such as tomatoes or orange juice
• eating fatty (e.g. chocolate, fried foods) or spicy foods
• lying down too soon after meals
• being overweight
• being pregnant
• other diseases
  • Diabetes - One of the many complications of diabetes is gastroparesis, an uncommon disorder in which your stomach takes too long to empty. If left in your stomach too long, stomach contents can regurgitate into your esophagus and cause heartburn.
  • Asthma - coughing and difficulty exhaling lead to pressure changes in your chest and abdomen, triggering regurgitation of stomach acid into your esophagus.
  • Scleroderma - can cause muscular tissue to thicken and swell which can keep digestive muscles from relaxing and contracting as they should.
  • Zollinger-Ellison syndrome - a rare disorder in which your stomach produces large amounts of acid.
  • Peptic Ulcer - an acidic open sore that occurs in the stomach and may cause heartburn and regurgitation of stomach acid into your esophagus.

• Medicines:
  • Aspirin and other NSAIDs (may irritate the stomach, which contributes to GERD)
  • Anticholinergics (e.g. Benadryl)
  • Calcium channel blockers
  • Theophylline, bronchial inhalers, and other asthma medications
  • Quinidine
  • Tetracycline
  • Potassium and iron supplements
  • Alendronate (Fosamax)
  • Nitrates
  • Sildenafil (Viagra)
  • Alpha-adrenergic agents (e.g. pseudoephederine)
  • Meperidine (Demerol)
  • Sedatives such as diazepam (Valium)