Word: backflow
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Question and Answer. As for an ulcer, the principal prescription is a bland diet, with antacids and possibly drugs to reduce the stomach's activity. One added feature: sleeping with the head of the bed elevated six to eight inches, to discourage backflow from stomach to gullet...
Often, however, heartburn comes with a backflow of partly digested food from the stomach into the esophagus. The victim may then belch up a little of this undigested food or its juices, and be concerned by the sharp taste of his "sour stomach." In most cases, this is a minor matter, and the result of gulping food while under emotional tension. A classic case is that of Wall Street brokers, who eat on their feet during midday trading. The cure is to stop eating, which is easy, and to calm down, which is not. Antacids may speed relief...
...Leaky valves, particularly the aortic. At Georgetown University Hospital, Surgeon Charles Anthony Hufnagel has developed an ingenious solution: into the aortic channel he introduces an additional valve made of plastic, with a floating ball which stops the backflow when the heart relaxes. (Such valves used to tick like a clock inside the patient, are now silent because the ball is covered with silicone rubber.) The gadget does not prevent all backflow but stops enough to keep most patients' hearts from being overloaded...