Stomach acids and shortness of breath

The 'gate' between the esophagus and the stomach prevent acids spills

Have you ever felt that someone is strangling your throat as soon as you go to sleep in the night? Did such feelings wake you up? Does it recur? Does waking up relieves you of the stressful breathing? Then the answer might be that you are suffering from a condition known as ‘gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), or in simple terms, regurgitation of stomach acids. 

I remember one of my friends complaining to me that he wakes up in the night with a terrifying experience of running out of breath. He was pointing fingers at almost everything and was struggling to get good night’s sleep for a long time. I have also come across patients who continue to suffer from such experiences although they do not think that the said problem can be anything treatable! However, they were wrong.

GERD is the result of stomach acid flowing back into the esophagus, which is the tube that connects your throat with the stomach. In healthy people, the lower part of the esophagus is protected from the stomach acids by means of a ‘gate’, formed by muscles. However, in some people, this gate becomes dysfunctional and therefore the stomach acids can flow freely back into the esophagus. The acidic nature of the stomach content does not go down well with the lining of the esophagus. Therefore, the nerve endings located in the lower portion of the esophagus becomes stimulated. The same nerves supplies other parts of the body in and around the esophagus as well. Therefore, when the esophagus nerve endings are stimulated, it can activate nerves innervating the ‘small airways in the lungs’, the muscles lining the throat…etc. Thus, the reason for you experiencing a shortness of breath or sudden difficulty in breathing, is the closure of small airways in the lungs and the sudden contraction of the muscles around the throat. 

When you sleep, the stomach acids can easily enter the esophagus, and could even reach the throat. In some instances, the acids can spill into the lungs as well. This can lead to a sudden contraction of the airways and the muscles surrounding the throat. The result is a terrifying experience of ‘suffocation’.

Now that you know how stomach acids can cause shortness of breath, how can you prevent it from happening again? The answer unfortunately is not straightforward. 

However, I can give some supporting advice. For instance, if you can finish your meals at least three hours before you go to sleep, it will help the amount of acids flowing into the esophagus and therefore the chances of developing any symptoms. Secondly, you should ideally reduce the size of your meals, the amount of fats and acids present in your meals and the level of spices you use. You can also make use of an antacid medication to relieve some of the other associated symptoms along with the feeling of suffocation during the night. 

Lastly, persisting sudden onset breathlessness in the night may have another underlying causes as well. Therefore, if you continue to feel the same during nights even after undertaking the above precautions, you should seek professional help without much delay. In fact, if you are in doubt, the best approach would be for you to ask from your doctor, what you should do.