GERD: From “Just Heartburn” to a Complex Digestive Disorder

For decades, heartburn was dismissed as a minor inconvenience, something you treated with an antacid and moved on with your day. Scientists now understand that GERD is not simply “too much stomach acid.” Instead, it is a multifactorial condition involving anatomy, nerve signaling, digestive motility, and lifestyle factors.

In other words, the story of GERD has evolved dramatically over time, and understanding that evolution helps us better treat it today.