You need to keep in mind that frequent heartburn means exposing your esophagus to stomach acid for long periods of time. Your esophagus may get damaged and this may lead to difficulty in swallowing. In more serious cases, you may even lose weight and become frequently dehydrated. In rare cases, you may vomit blood or have small amounts of blood in your stool. This is because chronic heartburn may indicate that you may be suffering from other medical conditions that are far more serious, such as Barrett s esophagus, Hiatal hernia, esophagitis, or GERD. In rare and extreme cases, chronic heartburn may also be caused by esophageal cancer or cancer of the esophagus. To make things worse, women who are pregnant are more susceptible to heartburn. It can really be frustrating experiencing this condition especially when the weather is hot or warm. If you are pregnant, you have to be prepared to experience heartburn as this will be very common. Now, you need to keep in mind that although this condition is painful and extremely uncomfortable to experience, it is a condition that will not harm the baby inside your tummy. After antacids, the next group of drugs that you may need to take for easing heartburn symptoms is histamine-2 blockers. Most drugs of this type may be purchased over the counter and what it does is that it decreases the amount of acid that your stomach produces. Usually, they are taken twice a day and they provide relief from heartburn within 30 minutes of taking it. You will see that this will make a lot of difference. Baking soda is also a great way to treat heartburn. Drink water with baking soda that next time you feel the symptoms of heartburn. However, although this will help ease the pain as it will neutralize the acid in your stomach, it is only a short term solution. Try to reduce your overall food intake and lose some of your weight by exercising. Doing so will help reduce the amount of acid produced in your stomach, which will in turn decrease your chances of experiencing heartburn. The second is to eat healthy. If you can, you should try and maintain a food diary.