Heartburn Drugs Can Raise Risk Of Pneumonia

Boston (HealthKnowItAll) - Results of a new study found in the Journal of the American Medical Association, find that people who take medication to reduce acid reflux are at risk of developing pneumonia.

Acid reflux, or heartburn as it is also called can be a very annoying condition, characterized by a burning feeling in the back of the throat and the upper chest.

The study was conducted by Dr. Shoshana J. Herzig, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and featured more than 64,000 hospital patients given acid blocking drugs.

The researchers focused on 2 different popular acid blockers - proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) and histamine2 receptor antagonists.

The researchers noted that those patients given an acid blocker were at greater risk of developing hospital-acquired pneumonia than those patients not given the drugs.

The researchers believe this to be the case because acid blocking drugs alter bacteria in the respiratory tract, in a way that promotes pneumonia onset.