 [ Symptoms ] can heartburn “trigger” asthma [ Disease ] severe heartburn and asthma often go hand in hand recent studies show that up to 89 of those with asthma also suffer from severe heartburn known as gastroesophageal reflux disease gerd gerd generally occurs at night when the sufferer is lying down normally a valve between the esophagus and stomach prevents stomach acids from backing up into the esophagus in gerd the valve does not function properly the stomach acids reflux or back up into the esophagus if the acid reaches into the throat or airways the irritation and inflammation can trigger an asthma attack certain clues that suggest reflux as the cause of asthma include the onset of asthma in adulthood no family history of asthma no history of allergies or bronchitis difficult to control asthma or coughing while lying down if your doctor suspects this problem he or she may recommend specific tests to look for it