Stomach acid is almost as acidic as battery acid so it is easy to see why the esophagus can get irritated.
The fact that most of us experience heartburn from time to time does not mean that we have GERD. Generally if you have heartburn more than twice a week, you probably have it.
In America today, more than sixty million people experience Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) symptoms once a month. Of the sixty million, twenty five million Americans suffer symptoms of GERD everyday. All age groups suffer from GERD, except the number of patients per age group increases after the age of 40. There is research being done to find if the disease plays a role in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Women are just as likely to get GERD as men, however Marco Patti (2003), a medical researcher maintains "White males are more at risk for Barrett's Esophagus and Aden carcinoma than other populations." Both Barrett's Esophagus and adenocarcinoma have been linked to Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Barrett's Esophagus is the advanced stage of erosive esophagitis.
Some common populations that are more susceptible to Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) are smokers, individuals that are overweight, individuals with a high acidic diet and asthma patients. According to Dr. Minocha, author of How to Stop Heartburn (2001), "Many patients are smokers," and "They should be counseled about cessation of smoking to cure/prevent Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease." Obesity in America is common and researchers are finding that there is a link between the disease and obesity. Since GERD is the exposure of esophageal mucosa to gastric contents which are essentially acid, the adding acidy foods to the diet only increases the acid level in the esophagus. In research, Susan Harding, and J.E. Richter (1997) claim that "Gastroesophageal Reflux is common in adult asthma patients and is a potential trigger of asthma.