My intent is to try to make myself useful so I thought I would dedicate some anatomy lessons to you so that you will be more knowledgeable patients.
As a first lesson, I thought I would keep it simple by not going into the more complex meanderings of epithelial tissues and defense mechanisms protecting our mucous membranes just yet, so let's start by understanding how the gastric blister acts.
It is basically a bubble of air that is always physiologically present in the bottom of the stomach that is in contact with the diaphragm and thus indirectly with the heart.
When the amount of air in the bubble increases it is eliminated through the cardia and flowing into the esophagus produces what is known as belching.
When this bubble does not find an outlet it increases in volume and compresses the cardiac region altering heart function producing abdominal swelling, tachycardia, extrasystoles and chest oppression that so alarm patients.
In fact, such symptoms are purely functional in nature and are not at all dangerous because they do not indicate any cardiac malfunction.
Often the unexpelled air bubble is associated with heartburn and acidity, which are the classic symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux that we will discuss in future posts.
