This condition can increase your risk of developing cancer of the esophagus, which is very hard to detect and very hard to treat. These are the causes of heartburn. As you can see, heartburn should be taken seriously especially if have a chronic case or when you experience it almost every day. Get heartburn treated and you can be sure that you will be able to continue living a normal life. Although most of us suffer from a minor case of heartburn, you have to consider the fact that this condition can really be a nuisance as it can hinder us from doing our daily activities normally. You have to remember that heartburn is a lifestyle disease. It is basically caused by poor eating habits and poor lifestyle. This feeling will make you feel as if your chest is on fire. The burning sensation will travel from your diaphragm to your throat and you will taste something sour and bitter on your mouth and feel as if food is reentering your mouth. You feel like vomiting and when you do gag, no food will come out. Most people treat heartburn symptoms through lifestyle modification and the use of antacids. But, for some people, this doesn t work. If you still suffer from heartburn symptoms despite making lifestyle changes and using antacids, it may be a sign that you are suffering from a more serious condition where heartburn is only a symptom. You also need to avoid or lessen your consumption of foods that can damage your esophagus, such as spicy food, oranges, pineapple or citrus fruits and juices, tomato sauce and foods that contain a lot of tomatoes. You should also stop smoking as nicotine can damage your LES or the lower esophageal sphincter, which is primarily responsible for preventing stomach acid from reaching your esophagus. First of all, heartburn occurs when partially digested food mixed with stomach acid or gastric juice escapes the stomach and comes in to contact with the esophagus. This causes pain and a burning sensation behind the breastbone in the chest, which is what we all know as heartburn. A lot of people experiences heartburn at some point in time but if you experience this problem frequently, such as 3 times a week, this means that you have chronic heartburn.