Functional Heartburn Patients Demonstrate Traits of Functional Bowel Disorder but Lack a Uniform Increase of Chemoreceptor Sensitivity to Acid

Abstract

Patients with FH demonstrate increased reports of chest pain and somatization, an alteration in autonomic function but lack a uniform increase in chemoreceptor sensitivity to acid as compared to those with NERD+. This suggests that while FH patients harbor clinical traits of a functional bowel disorder, hypersensitivity to acid is not a general phenomenon.