GERD — NCLEX Cheat Sheet
Weak LES → acid reflux
👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team
🕐 Updated 2026-07-11
🏷️ Physiological Adaptation
🔖 Free to read, print, and share
GERD: stomach acid refluxing up into the esophagus. Illustration: BruceBlaus via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent GERD on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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- weak LES → acid backflow
- worse lying flat, after meals
- heartburn, regurgitation, dyspepsia
- dysphagia, chronic cough, hoarse
- Barrett's esophagus → cancer risk
- rule out cardiac chest pain
- HOB up, no meals 2-3h before bed
- small meals, sit up after eating
- avoid caffeine, fatty, spicy, ETOH
- PPIs, H2 blockers, antacids
✨Quick Tip
Pyrosis (heartburn) is the hallmark, often worse after meals and when lying down or bending over.
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