Feel Like Food Gets Stuck in Your Chest? It May Be Achalasia Do
you or someone you know have difficulty swallowing? Does it feel
like food gets stuck in the middle of your chest? This could be
caused by a condition called achalasia, which can occur when
food is unable to pass normally through the lower esophageal
sphincter. That's the muscular ring located between your
esophagus and stomach. "With achalasia, the lower esophageal
sphincter, or valve, is too tight and fails to relax. So, food
backs up and the esophagus begins to look like a funnel. That's
what causes the feeling of blockage in the mid-chest," explained
Mary S. Maish, M.D., chief of thoracic and foregut surgery for
Washington Township Medical Foundation. "When this happens,
people have to wait for the valve to release, and then the food
trickles down into the stomach." Achalasia generally affects
people during young adulthood and again in their late 30s or
40s. The cause is not known, but doctors believe it may be due
to a virus, or it may be ge