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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Esophageal spasms affect the smooth (involuntary) muscles in the walls of your lower esophagus. These spasms may occur in two forms:
- Diffuse spasms. These simultaneous or irregular contractions of esophageal muscles slow down the progress of food toward your stomach.
- Nutcracker esophagus. Food may progress to your stomach normally, but the contractions of your esophageal muscles are painfully strong. People with this type of esophageal spasm don't experience difficulty swallowing as often as people with diffuse spasms do.
For both forms of esophageal spasms, periods of contractions often occur intermittently.
Signs and symptoms of esophageal spasms include:
- Pain in your chest, often intense, which you might mistake for heart pain (angina)
- Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- The feeling that an object is stuck in your throat (globus)
- Bringing food back up (regurgitation)
- Heartburn, a burning sensation that may radiate from your upper abdomen to your neck, sometimes leaving a sour taste in your mouth
Esophageal spasms can be difficult to diagnose because of their similarity to other disorders, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition in which stomach acid or bile flows back (refluxes) into your esophagus, irritating its lining.
When to see a doctor
If you have difficulty swallowing, chest pain, frequent heartburn or difficulty keeping food down, see your doctor.
