Health Dictionary

Overview

Heartburn was first medically described by Blount in 1656, who called the symptom “Dyspepsy”.

Historical Perspective

Heartburn was first medically described by Blount in 1656, who called the symptom “Dyspepsy”;^[1]
The term heartburn was commonly used to describe the pain in the 16th century. It was believed that the pain originated in the heart, not the esophagus, and the first terms to describe the pain were cardalgia or cardialgy.
In 1829, the Southey theorized that it could be caused by bile or acid;
Pepsis is the latin name for digestion, hence, dyspepsia was the term used to describe “abnormal digestion”;
Chalk, slop diets and charcoal had been used since the earliest times to provide symptomatic relief from dyspepsia, which was not associated with the stomach up to the 19th century;^[1]
In the early 20th century the use of bland diets and milk ingestion was augmented by the addition of neutralizing compounds and antacids to control the symptoms of heartburn, though reports of side effects such as diarrhea and milk-alkali syndrome were common;
In the 1970s the histamine –2 receptor antagonists became available for treating heartburn;
In the 1980s the proton pump inhibitors became available for treating heartburn – dramatically improving the efficacy of the treatment.^[1]

References

Heartburn historical perspective