Figure 1 - Prevalence of pulmonary diseases in patients referred for hiatal hernia surgery.

Although the authors were from a large surgical practice and the 636 patients had severely symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in need of surgical repair, the results of the survey cannot be ignored: 84% had classic GER symptoms comprising heartburn, indigestion, and postural aggravation (88%), whereas 61% had respiratory symptoms comprising cough (47%), bronchitis (35%), asthma and wheezing (16%), pneumonitis (16%), hemoptysis (13%), and hoarseness (12%). More than 60% had symptoms of pulmonary disease coexisting with the GER.