PREVIEW
A hiatal hernia is when your stomach bulges up into your chest through an opening in your diaphragm, the muscle that separates the two areas. The opening is called the hiatus, so this condition is also called a hiatus hernia.
There are two main types of hiatal hernias: sliding and paraesophageal.
Ordinarily, your esophagus (food pipe) goes through the hiatus and attaches to your stomach. In a sliding hiatal hernia, your stomach...