About
Achalasia is a condition that affects how the oesophagus (also
often called the gullet) works, and causes symptoms related to
eating and drinking. The oesophagus is a muscular tube that runs
from the back of the throat through the chest into the stomach.
When you swallow food or drink, this tube normally contracts (or
pushes) what you have swallowed downwards into the stomach. In
addition, a small ring of muscle at the bottom of the oesophagus
just above the stomach (shown as the gastro-oesophageal junction in
the picture below) relaxes to let the food and drink through. In
achalasia, the muscles in the oesophagus do not work properly. The
ring of muscle at the bottom of the oesophagus does not relax as it
should, making it difficult for food and drink to get through into
the stomach. In addition, the whole of the oesophagus above this
stops contracting (or pushing) in the normal way.
Image credit: Cancer Research UK Uploader, 2016
Different symptoms that patients with achalasia can experience
are explained below.
Difficulty swallowing
Patients often experience difficulty eating and drinking. The
medical term for this is dysphagia. This means that food or drink
may get stuck on the way down, which can sometimes be felt in the
chest behind the breast bone. This can vary day-to-day, so the same
food or drink can be more or less of a problem on different days or
weeks.
Heartburn or pain
Patients may experience a burning or achy sensation in the
middle of the chest behind their breast bone or in the upper part
of the abdomen or tummy. Sometimes this can be severe and people
report feeling pain in this area. However, this is a very common
symptom in people in general, not just people with achalasia, with
up to 20% of the population suffering indigestion symptoms each
week.
Pain on swallowing
Patients may experience pain in the middle of the chest, behind
the breast bone, when they swallow food or drink. The medical term
for this is odynophagia. In addition some people may get severe
pains from spasms of the oesophagus. Others get milder symptoms
that are more like heartburn.
Regurgitation and/or vomiting
Food and drink that gets stuck in the oesophagus and cannot
easily enter the stomach may come back up, either as regurgitation
or vomiting.
Weight loss
It can be very difficult to eat and drink normal amounts so some
people lose weight.
