This means that whenever they experience heartburn, they pop the pills to relieve the symptoms. This is not really a good thing to do as you will become dependent on the pills and you are actually letting heartburn take control of your life. If you are open minded enough, you may want to try out alternative treatments for heartburn instead of just popping those heartburn pills whenever you experience the symptoms. 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. This surgical procedure produced 85 percent success rate and is the last resort for treating heartburn. These are the different types of drugs and surgery that you can consider if you are suffering from heartburn. They may recommend drugs containing histamine 2 blockers, proton pump inhibitors, ranitidine, and even metoclopramide. In some cases, more than one of these drugs are prescribed in order to cure or treat a case of chronic heartburn. In rare cases, chronic heartburn may be accompanied by a condition called Hiatal hernia. It will also make it harder for you to swallow and if GERD is left untreated, it can lead to more serious medical problems, such as cancer of the esophagus and even stomach cancer. People with this disease will suffer many sleepless nights because of the pain. As a result, people with GERD will live a lower quality of life. And, when the stomach is having a hard time digesting food, it will produce more acid, which is what you don t want your body to do if you are suffering from heartburn. Foods To Eat Apples and bananas are great for helping you deal with heartburn. This is because they help dissolve acid in your stomach. If you have been told to administer vicous lidocaine and it relieved you of symptoms 5 to 10 minutes after the administration, it is very likely that the heartburn is esophageal in origin. But, you still have to keep in mind that this does not rule out that it can be caused by heart related illnesses or diseases.