DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am a 79-year-old woman with a large hiatal hernia that is causing me to aspirate. I have moderate emphysema, too. Is surgery an option for me? Is there anything else that will help ...

A paraesophageal hernia is a type of hiatal hernia where a significant portion of the stomach (and possibly other organs) bulges through a natural opening in the diaphragm and into the chest cavity.

You’re eating a quick lunch and you get a weird sensation — you feel not only nauseated but also like something is stuck in the middle of your chest. You could chalk it up to eating too fast, but if ...