Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston studied patients in emergency rooms who complained of serious chest pain. 31 patients were examined for two days, with pH levels in the esophagus being measured. In 57% of the patients with chest pain was related to acid reflux symptoms, and not related to the heart. Also discovered in the study was the different types of reflux experience by men and women. There are two types of acid reflux: supine, which occurs when the patient is sleeping, and upright, which occurs when the patient is awake. Researchers found that men have more upright reflux, while women experienced both reflux during sleep and while they were awake.
It is important for patients never to assume their chest pain is caused by reflux symptoms until they have been thoroughly examined by a physician to rule out a heart attack, however researchers stated that acid reflux is often overlooked as a potential factor in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with serious chest pains.
Heartburn-like symptoms may not always be usual acid reflux disease but may also occur due to non-acid reflux or even without any reflux.