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HEARTBURN SURVEY REVEALS NEED FOR EDUCATION AND COMPASSION

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For more information, contact:
National Heartburn Alliance
(877)471-2081
nhbainformation@heartburnalliance.org

CHICAGO (May 18, 2000) - Recent survey results released by the National Heartburn Alliance reveal some surprising statistics about the misperceptions that prevail about heartburn. A summary of key survey findings follows:

Inaccurate Perceptions Persist

  • About 65 percent of Americans are not aware that heartburn could cause serious complications if left untreated.
  • Forty-three percent of heartburn sufferers do not consider it to be a medical condition.

Frequency of the "Flames"

  • About one-third of heartburn sufferers experience its effects once a week or more often.
  • One-third of heartburn sufferers experience its effects one to three times a month.

Heartburn's Immense Personal Impact

  • One-third of heartburn sufferers say that heartburn prevents them from doing things they like to do, and 27 percent say this occurs once a week or more.
  • Nearly one in four of frequent heartburn sufferers have not contributed as much as they could at work because of heartburn.
  • More than half of heartburn sufferers have stayed home from work on account of their heartburn once a month or more.

Common Culprits Often Contribute

  • More than half of heartburn sufferers consider the stress of work and home to be contributors to their heartburn.
  • Sufferers name food and eating habits as the most common contributing factors to heartburn. Eating certain foods, consuming large portions of food and eating before bedtime top the list.
  • More than half of heartburn sufferers consider the position of their body, stress and taking certain medications to be contributors to their heartburn.
  • Female sufferers are more likely to attribute their heartburn to body position, medication and being overweight than men.

Spotting the Symptoms

  • Twenty-nine percent of those who say they don't suffer from heartburn reported experiencing its most common symptoms — burning in chest, a feeling that food is coming back into the mouth or a bitter taste in the back of the throat.
  • More than 10 percent mistakenly identified symptoms such as increased heart rate, pain down the left arm and lightheadedness as heartburn symptoms.

Most Don't Treat Themselves to Treatment

  • Sixty percent of heartburn sufferers have not discussed their condition with a doctor or pharmacist.
  • Forty percent of Americans who have not consulted a health care professional said they don't plan to do so in the future.
  • More than two in five sufferers say they try to ignore heartburn.
  • Just 18 percent of sufferers are aware of advantages or side effects of basic treatment options.

Need for Consumer Education

  • More than one-third claim to understand advantages of antacids compared to a mere eight percent who understand the benefits of proton pump inhibitors.
  • Sixty-five percent of sufferers report taking antacids to "prevent" heartburn — despite the fact that antacids can only relieve symptoms once they have occurred.
  • One-fifth of sufferers report that they take some kind of medication but "are not sure which kind."
  • Seventeen percent of sufferers use home remedies. However, many of the home remedies listed — sodas, mint, spicy foods and tomato juice — can actually exacerbate heartburn symptoms.

Sufferers Endure Stereotypes and Lack of Understanding

  • The majority of non-sufferers (61 percent) say that heartburn sufferers "need to learn to relax."
  • Nearly half of non-sufferers feel "heartburn sufferers are responsible for their condition."
  • Twenty-eight percent of non-sufferers believe that sufferers complain too much.
  • More than a quarter of non-sufferers do not believe that heartburn could prevent someone from conducting daily activities.
  • While a majority of sufferers feel their doctor or family fully understand how their condition impacts their life, only one-quarter feel their co-workers understand heartburn's impact and just 38 percent feel their friends do.
  • Almost one-third of heartburn sufferers who would not consult with a professional feels that "having heartburn is your fault."

The National Heartburn Alliance is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of heartburn sufferers through education, information and support. Nationally recognized health care professionals, including experts in digestive disease, pharmacy, nutrition and exercise comprise the Alliance. For more information about the National Heartburn Alliance, consumers can log on the group's Web site, www.HeartburnAlliance.org or call toll-free (877)NHBA-INFO. The NHBA receives support and sponsorship from The P&G Health Sciences Institute.

The national survey was fielded by Yankelovich Partners in January of 2000 to determine attitudes and perceptions of heartburn sufferers, knowledge of heartburn symptoms and treatments, and the impact of heartburn on sufferers. The random telephone survey sample included more than 1,000 adults, half of whom had suffered from heartburn and half who did not believe they had experienced heartburn incidents. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.