Heartburn Diagnosis
Heartburn or acid reflux is a painful or burning sensation in the esophagus just below the breastbone caused by regurgitation of gastric acid. The pain often rises in the chest and may radiate to the neck throat or angle of the jaw. Heartburn is also identified as one of the causes of asthma and chronic cough.
Heartburn Diagnosis.
Physicians normally diagnose gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) based on symptoms alone. When the doctor is uncertain, they can perform other tests to confirm the diagnosis or exclude other disorders. Those tests include:
Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Series: A series of x-rays of the upper digestive system are taken after drinking a barium solution. These can demonstrate reflux of barium into the esophagus which suggests the possibility of gastro esophageal reflux disease. More accurately fluoroscopy can be used to document reflux in real-time.
Ambulatory pH Monitoring: A probe can be placed via the nose into the esophagus to record the level of acidity in the lower esophagus. Because some degree of variation in acidity is normal and small reflux events are relatively common such monitors must be left in place for at least a 24-hour period to confirm the diagnosis of GERD. The test is particularly useful when the patients symptoms can be correlated to episodes of increased esophageal acidity.
Endoscope test: The esophageal mucosa can be visualized directly by passing a thin lighted tube with a tiny camera attached (an endoscope) through the mouth to examine the esophagus and stomach. In this way evidence of esophageal inflammation can be detected and biopsies taken if necessary.
Manometer test: In this test a pressure sensor (manometer) is passed through the mouth into the esophagus and measures the pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter directly.
Biopsy test: A small sample of tissue from the esophagus is removed. It is then studied to check for inflammation cancer or other problems.
