Should you keep taking that heartburn medication?
Everyone gets a little heartburn now and then. But if it happens more than three times a week, it’s time to do something about it. One way to treat heartburn is with proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), which help reduce stomach acid. They’re generally considered safe in the short term. When taken long-term, PPIs are associated with an increased risk of hip fractures, pneumonia, dementia, heart attack, and chronic kidney disease. People taking PPIs should talk to their doctors about whether they really need to continue taking them.
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