Home Remedies for Treating Heartburn: Simple Ways to Manage Heartburn Millions of people from different parts of the world experiences and suffers from heartburn. Although there are medications, which are suggested by doctors that can help with this condition, these medications may not always be helpful. Although heartburn may suggest a form of heart disease, it really doesn t have anything to do with the heart. Heartburn is basically a digestive problem, which occurs when the acid inside our stomach comes in contact with the esophagus lining. This causes irritation, which ultimately causes heartburn. Although mild heartburn is more of a nuisance than a real condition, chronic or severe heartburn can be something much more serious. Chronic heartburn will not only prevent you from living a normal life, but it can also be very dangerous to your overall health. You need to remember that when acid reflux or heartburn occurs, your esophagus will get damaged. If you are a smoker and you frequently experience heartburn, then you may want to stop smoking. Cigarettes and cigars contain nicotine, which can weaken the sphincter and cause acid from stomach to come in contact with the esophagus. These are some of the ways on how you can control and manage heartburn. There are also surgical procedures that can help your problem with heartburn. Surgery is usually done if no prescription drugs helped in relieving heartburn or if you are already experiencing serious complications from heartburn. The surgery is a simple procedure and is called fundoplication. This procedure will tighten your LES muscle and the muscle will be tied in such a way to prevent acid from flowing back in to the esophagus. However, if you continue experiencing heartburn every day, then you are suffering from a chronic or severe type of heartburn, which can prevent you from living a normal life. Chronic heartburn is also a sign or symptom of a more serious condition called GERD or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Frequent heartburn will prevent you from living normally.