Gastrointestinal Diseases

Classic heartburn, accompanied by discomfort in the chest and a sour taste in the mouth, is a disorder of the esophagus. Ulcers, in contrast, tend to be felt as pain below the rib cage and often are accompanied by bleeding. But sometimes, it takes an astute doctor to decipher which is causing the patient's distress. If the patient is over age 40, doctors also need to consider the possibility of heart disease masquerading as heartburn-like discomfort. "It's an important thing to distinguish.

Even though this column is supposed to be about food and health, we are continually asked questions about heartburn and gas, which, of course, result from eating food. As a topic, it's really not so big a stretch. Everybody gets some form of heartburn from time to time, but as we get older, it often seems to be more frequent and more severe. Reflux esophagitis refers to a backup of stomach contents into the lower esophagus, where the stomach acids produce a burning sensation.

Even though this column is supposed to be about food and health, we are continually asked questions about heartburn and gas, which, of course, result from eating food. As a topic, it's really not so big a stretch. Everybody gets some form of heartburn from time to time, but as we get older, it often seems to be more frequent and more severe. Reflux esophagitis refers to a backup of stomach contents into the lower esophagus, where the stomach acids produce a burning sensation.

Classic heartburn, accompanied by discomfort in the chest and a sour taste in the mouth, is a disorder of the esophagus. Ulcers, in contrast, tend to be felt as pain below the rib cage and often are accompanied by bleeding. But sometimes, it takes an astute doctor to decipher which is causing the patient's distress. If the patient is over age 40, doctors also need to consider the possibility of heart disease masquerading as heartburn-like discomfort. "It's an important thing to distinguish.

A grand opening for UCI Medical Center's gastrointestinal outpatient center is scheduled April 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the center. The Interventional Endoscopy Center is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Procedures offered at the center include endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration, developed by Dr. Kenneth Chang, head of gastrointestinal oncology.

Trimedyne Inc., a Santa Ana manufacturer of medical devices, said it has received federal Food and Drug Administration approval to market a laser catheter device to treat severe gastro-intestinal diseases, such as bleeding stomach ulcers and cancerous tumors. The disposable catheter, called a Laser Probe-GI, comes in varying sizes and costs $200 to $300. Its companion machine, the Optilase Argon Laser System, provides the laser power for the catheter.

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, issuing his first report on nutrition and disease, said Wednesday that Americans are still eating too much dietary fat, thus increasing their risk of heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes and other chronic serious conditions.

A county environmental health official toured Valley Center on Monday and confirmed that the area "has a very, very serious health problem" and is "sitting on a time bomb" because of sewage contamination in the ground water.

Beaches normally jammed with summer vacationers were virtually deserted Thursday after a Tijuana sewage spill prompted health officials to ban swimming along a 15-mile stretch of beach north from the U.S.-Mexico border. The closure affected beaches from Imperial Beach to Coronado and drew new attention to the pollution generated by Tijuana, where population growth has far outpaced the Mexican border city's ability to process sewage.

Another section of Huntington State Beach was closed Thursday by Orange County health officials after testing revealed the presence of unhealthy bacteria levels, the source of which continues to be a mystery. Officials closed an additional 1,000 feet of the state beach, then added a 1,000-foot "buffer zone" that included portions of the city beach.

Southern California's weather this weekend will not even qualify as a variation on a familiar theme--it will be a repetition, forecasters said. "And I don't see much change for the next week," said Dave Beusterien, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. "We'll probably be singing the same song and same verses next week."