Millions Misdiagnosed: The Silent Epidemic of Hiatal Hernia Syndrome

I'm frequently asked "Why has my doctor been unable to diagnose my Hiatal Hernia Syndrome?" "Why have I lived all these years suffering and received no help?"

Let's first review what Hiatal Hernia Syndrome is. It's the coming together of about 20 different symptoms with a common root cause. It frequently starts with acid reflux, bloat, gas, constipation, and then over time other symptoms occur such as heart palpitation, shortness of breath, anxiety, mood swings, light headed, tingling into the arms, regurgitation and more. 

As you can see this involves potentially many different organs and systems of the human body. And this is why the condition remains undiagnosed. You primary care physician is looking for a disease for which he or she can prescribe the approved medication. And when you seek out a specialist like a cardiologist or a gastroenterologist or pulmonologist, they similarly are constrained by finding a disease and when they don't find one they are able to give a medication to lessen symptoms, but that's where it ends. 

A hiatal hernia can be diagnosed and the treatment for that is PPIs or surgery. And that is the entire depth and breadth of what's recommended.

What doesn't happen is to stand back and truly look at your body as a whole because Hiatal Hernia Syndrome is all about the inter-communication and cross-talk among several organs that are affecting one another.

The stomach is compressed, it elevates and then spasms your diaphragm creating shortness of breath, and when the diaphragm elevated it gets in the way of the heart resulting in heart palpitations or even A fib. That's the physical aspect of the syndrome.

But there's a neurological aspect which is completely unappreciated. The vagus nerve travels "everywhere" in your body. But if you see a neurologist about your vagus nerve they'll ask you if you have epilepsy or depression. They focus on vagus nerve stimulation to address predominantly those two conditions. 

What isn't appreciated is the reflex the controls an interplay between your heart and your stomach, as well as a reflex between your esophagus and your heart. These reflexes are called the cardio-gastric reflex and the esophageal-cardiac reflex and what happens in each is that the acid that is irritating the esophagus and stomach sets off an intercommunication to the heart, which now gets irritated.

The word "irritated" understates it because the heart is affected in profound ways, resulting in less blood flow to the heart, heart palpitations and decreased heart rate, along with increased risk of heart attack. 

You can see that the lack of understanding of how all these organs communicate with one another and why you can have digestive upset along with shortness of breath, heart palpitations and anxiety is what's resulting in your continued suffering with a condition that is not hard to fix.

The treatment is natural - no drugs or surgery, and we have a very high success rate. But it requires this understanding of how this interplay occurs and how to diagnose what the root cause is for each individual. It's customized, personalized care.

It's frustrating to be told that what you know you are experiencing isn't possible, or it's "all due to stress". It's not, and you're right - it is all interconnected.

If this is you and you're ready to get help, we're here for you. We can't help everyone but if we think you're a good fit for what we do, then our success rate is high - 85%. 

We're happy to help if you want assistance. You can call us for a very affordable consultation and we'll let you know if you're a good fit for what we do. Call us at 727-335-0400.

#hiatalhernia #rootcausemedicine #acidreflux