Symptoms

The most common symptoms of GERD are pain or burning in the chest (heartburn) and the regurgitation of sour or bitter liquid, sometimes mixed with food, to the throat or mouth. Although not everyone with gastroesophageal reflux disease has these symptoms, the combination is so characteristic of gastroesophageal reflux that formal testing is often unnecessary.

Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control More information about GERD Best Hospitals for digestive disorders GERD-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

Patients may also have difficulty swallowing and chest pain that does not involve a burning sensation. The chest pain is usually located in the middle of the chest and may radiate through to the back. Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) may be due to abnormal esophageal motility or to an esophageal stricture (blockage due to scarring). In addition to burning in the chest, this sensation may also arise in the throat, larynx, or lungs.

Unusual reflux symptoms, often referred to as extra-esophageal manifestations of reflux disease, may include sore throat, coughing, increased salivation, and shortness of breath. These unusual manifestations may occur in patients without chest pain, esophageal burning, or esophageal damage.