The Stomach's Role in Asthma
July 26, 2000 -- Are you being treated for asthma but continue to have difficulty breathing? Then stomachacid reflux may be the culprit. A new study shows that acid reflux is very common in patients with asthma even if they don't have any heartburn symptoms, suggesting that treating acid reflux in these patients may help improve their breathing.
Acid reflux "occurs when the muscle responsible for keeping food and stomach juices in the stomach loosens and allows the stomach contents to back up into the [throat]," says Michael Kaliner, MD, medical director of the Institute for Asthma and Allergy in Washington, D.C. When stomach contents back up, the acid they contain may trigger the activity of nerves that affect the lungs, causing tightening of the small airways and causing the symptoms of asthma. Kaliner was not involved in the study.
Doctors have long known that acid reflux is common in asthma patients and can trigger asthma symptoms, says Philip Schoenfeld, MD, director of gastrointestinal research at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. However, their reflux was no secret because those patients suffer from heartburn. Many specialists have suspected that some asthma patients may have "silent" acid reflux that, for some reason, does not cause heartburn but may play a role in triggering or worsening asthma, but they haven't been able to prove it. "That's why this is such a provocative article," says Schoenfeld, who reviewed the study for WebMD.
The researchers studied 26 mostly female patients with an average age of 43, stable asthma, and no symptoms of acid reflux.
More than 60% had evidence of acid reflux even though they had no heartburn symptoms and several coughing episodes were caused by reflux. Also, two episodes of shortness of breath and one episode of chest pain were linked to acid reflux. The study appears in the July issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
According to Kaliner, the role of acid reflux often is "not appreciated" when assessing patients with asthma. He recommends the following measures to help keep acid reflux under control:
The Stomach's Role in Asthma
July 26, 2000 -- Are you being treated for asthma but continue to have difficulty breathing? Then stomachacid reflux may be the culprit. A new study shows that acid reflux is very common in patients with asthma even if they don't have any heartburn symptoms, suggesting that treating acid reflux in these patients may help improve their breathing.
Acid reflux "occurs when the muscle responsible for keeping food and stomach juices in the stomach loosens and allows the stomach contents to back up into the [throat]," says Michael Kaliner, MD, medical director of the Institute for Asthma and Allergy in Washington, D.C. When stomach contents back up, the acid they contain may trigger the activity of nerves that affect the lungs, causing tightening of the small airways and causing the symptoms of asthma. Kaliner was not involved in the study.
Doctors have long known that acid reflux is common in asthma patients and can trigger asthma symptoms, says Philip Schoenfeld, MD, director of gastrointestinal research at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. However, their reflux was no secret because those patients suffer from heartburn. Many specialists have suspected that some asthma patients may have "silent" acid reflux that, for some reason, does not cause heartburn but may play a role in triggering or worsening asthma, but they haven't been able to prove it. "That's why this is such a provocative article," says Schoenfeld, who reviewed the study for WebMD.
The researchers studied 26 mostly female patients with an average age of 43, stable asthma, and no symptoms of acid reflux.
More than 60% had evidence of acid reflux even though they had no heartburn symptoms and several coughing episodes were caused by reflux. Also, two episodes of shortness of breath and one episode of chest pain were linked to acid reflux. The study appears in the July issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
According to Kaliner, the role of acid reflux often is "not appreciated" when assessing patients with asthma. He recommends the following measures to help keep acid reflux under control:
- Don't drink liquids with meals.
- Wait one hour after meals before drinking liquids.
- Eat or drink three hours before lying down or going to bed.
- Try to maintain an ideal weight.
- Eat up to six small meals daily instead of fewer, larger meals.
- Take five to eight antacids, such as Tums, each night at bedtime.
- Elevate the head of your bed by 4 to 6 inches.