Your discussion is very informative. I totally agree with the fact that although the prevalence of gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) is around 20%, the incidence is rising more so because of obesity. In addition to obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, anxiety, and old age are also risk factors (Clarrett & Hachem,2018). The symptoms indeed cause discomfort and decrease the quality of life of an individual. As you pointed out, while sometimes it can cause chest pain, it is very vital to rule out other causes of chest pain, starting with checking if the pain is of cardiac origin. The condition indeed increases the risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma and Barret’s esophagus. Thus, in a patient presenting with symptoms suggestive of GERD, Clarrett, and Hachem (2020) advise on the need to check for red flags such as dysphagia, odynophagia, dark stools, anemia, and weight loss. Moreover, it can also cause complications such as esophagitis and strictures if left untreated (Clarrett & Hachem, 2020). This clearly shows more effort should be put into the management and, more importantly, the prevention of the disease.
While the diagnosis of the disease is mostly clinical, ambulatory pH monitoring and endoscopy are also used (Clarrett & Hachem, 2020). I concur that the initial mode of management is the modification of the patient’s lifestyle. In addition to the elevation of the head of the bed, there should be minimization or cessation of things such as cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, nighttime snacking, eating foods with lots of fats, and consumption of large meals in the evening. However, the effectiveness of proton pump inhibitors is reduced in severe cases (MacFarlane, 2018), which leads to the question, what can be done to help such patients?