Dr. Kurt Barrett's GERD Blog

The numbers of sleep associated issues related to GERD are impressive BUT in my experience they are routinely ignored or overlooked. GERD patients can present (with or WITHOUT heartburn) complaining of: drowiness, daytime fatigue, frequent nocturnal awakenings, awakening non-refreshed, snoring, and/or experiencing unpleasant feelings of legs (or arms).
I speak to the Michigan Sleep Alliance (in Kalamazoo, Michigan) on March 18, 2010. The title of the presentation is, "Insomnia-What Role Might GERD Play?"
The National Health and Wellness Survey, with 66,000 participants, found 18% of this group were diagnosed with GERD.
The participants diagnosed with GERD reported:
-they required "more medical care"
-decreased Quality-Of-Life scores
-lowered work productivity
-reduced sense of well being
-87% had "sleep issues"!.....
-48% revealed trouble staying asleep.....
-56% claimed difficulty initiating sleep....

I find that physicians and providers only treat GERD when associated with heartburn. Their goal of therapy is, generally, to reduce heartburn. Beyond heartburn and indigestion little is recognized or acknowledged by primary and even gastroenterology specalists.
THE EYES ONLY SEE WHAT THE MIND ALREADY KNOWS.

I have, in my clinical practice, found an association with cardiac arrythmia and GERD. One source previously found 78% of patients in atrial fibrillation WHO HAD NO REASON TO BE IN ATRIAL FIBRILLATION responded favorably to treatment for GERD. There is now further documentation between GERD and atrial fibrillation. According to an article recently published in Clinical Cardiology, a Ventrans Administration study of 163,600 + adult patients revealed 5% had atrial fibrillation and 29% had GERD. Univariate analysis revealed GERD increased the likelihood of atrial fibrillation by "nearly 39%". My suspicion is that they probably would have found an even stronger association had they liberalized their criteria for diagnosing GERD. My kudos to Dr. Jeffery Kunz for shedding some insight into the arena of acknowledged consequences of reflux of digestive/gastric contents.

Jeffrey S. Kunz. Clin Cardiol 2009;32:584-587.