Who can get GERD? 

Acid Reflux is a very common phenomenon and can happen in even healthy normal individuals. Evidence suggests that one in three Americans suffer from heartburn at least once a month and about 7 per cent of the American population gets heartburn once a day. 

In fact studies have shown that reflux occurs as commonly in normal individuals as in GERD patients. But in GERD patients there is a higher amount of acid in the food pipe and it stays there longer as well. Heartburn that occurs more than twice a week is usually considered as GERD, and if it is not treated it can eventually lead to more serious health problems. Recent statistics from the US Department of Health and Human Services indicate that about seven (7) million people in the US alone suffer from GERD. 

(Source: Digestive Diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact, National Digestive Diseases Data Working Group, James E. Everhart, MD, MPH, Editor, US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, NIH Publication No. 94-1447, May 1994) 

Although everyone at some point or the other suffers from GERD, the disease seems to occur more frequently in people above the age of 40 years. More than half of the GERD patients are between the ages of 45-64. Although it is more common in adults, acid reflux can affect even infants.