Understanding Barrett’s Esophagus And How It Relates to Heartburn and GERD

Heartburn, Esophagus, experience

Heartburn is a condition where you start to experience pain in your chest and sometimes, an odd taste in your mouth. It has nothing to do with your heart, but more of indigestion, and stomach acid traveling up to your esophagus. The pain happens because your esophagus is not equipped to handling acid, unlike your stomach which has a lining.

When heartburn keeps happening, it becomes known as chronic indigestion or GERD. GERD is short of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, and can happen to anyone, regardless of age, gender, or race.

Barrett’s Esophagus is a complication of GERD and usually victimizes the white males. To properly diagnose Barrett’s Esophagus condition, a doctor must perform an endoscopy wherein a tube is used to see inside the esophagus’ lining.

This condition has been described as a situation when the normal lining in the esophagus is replaced by another kind of pinkish lining, and this can lead to cancer. The term, Barrett’s Esophagus comes from the person who first described the condition, a surgeon by the name of Norman Barrett. The strange part is that Dr. Barrett’s finding were actually wrong, and a team of two doctors, Drs. Johnstone and Allison, were the ones who were able to describe the condition more aptly.

However, it is safe to say that there are only a few GERD patients who end up with Barrett’s Esophagus. Just because you have been diagnosed with chronic indigestion, does not necessarily mean that you will get cancer of the esophagus.

What it does mean though is if you have been diagnosed with GERD, then you should have regular endoscopy tests (at least twice a year) done since there is a treatment for the acid that causes the change of lining in the esophagus. If ever you do get positive results from an endoscopy for Barrett’s Esophagus, make it a point to get a second opinion. After all, it is your right to do so, plus, without the added confirmation, you might have a harder time being approved for disability or insurance.

Treatment for Barrett’s Esophagus is not that different from GERD. The problem though is that while treatment can reduce or stop further damage to the esophagus, whatever condition your esophagus is cannot be remedied or reverted to its previous state.

The most a doctor can do for a patient with Barrett’s Esophagus that has reached a critical level is to perform an esophagectomy. This is the removal of your esophagus through surgery. There are other ways to treat Barrett’s esophagus but most of them are in the experimental stages yet, and so while they are not available to the public, there may still be some after effects that need to be considered.

It is also possible for a person who has a medical family history of GERD and Barrett’s esophagus may have greater risks of having this kind of condition, but is cannot be said for certain that people with GERD will develop this Barrett’s esophagus.