Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition in which excessive gastric and duodenal contents reflux into the esophagus causing symptoms such as heartburn, and can lead to esophagitis and damage to tissues outside the esophagus such as the pharynx, larynx, and airway. GERD is very common in western countries, about 7%-15% of the population have GERD symptoms, the incidence of GERD increases with age, 40-60 years of age is the peak age of onset, there is no difference in the incidence of men and women, but there are more men than women with reflux esophagitis (2:1 to 3:1).