Heartburn, also known as acid reflux, can cause the worst pain at night. Lying down makes it easy for stomach acid to splash into the esophagus, the muscular tube that connects the mouth and stomach. Eating dinner too close to bedtime can worsen the condition. One way to relieve symptoms is to use gravity. A common practice is to elevate the top of the bed by 6 to 8 inches with blocks.

"I tried cinder blocks," said Rose, who had surgery four years ago after learning stomach acid had eroded the lining of her esophagus.

"But I'm 5-foot-10. Half my body would be off the bed - it felt like a slide."

She tried sleeping upright in a corner of her L-shaped couch. That also was uncomfortable.

Why Not A Pillow?

So she started playing with an idea to make a comfortable pillow that would keep her head elevated by the recommended amount. Rose came up with the Prop Up Pillow she now sells online (www. propuppillow.com) for $170 each.

A former restaurant manager, she had no design experience before creating the pillow. But thinking about how she could be comfortable and have enough support for her back helped her create a prototype. She used high-tech memory foam that conforms to the head's shape. Then she got a patent and a Web site.

A Tampa foam company now manufactures the pillows. They are assembled with pillowcases and boxed at the Pinellas Association for Retarded Children in St. Petersburg.

In three years, Rose has sold more than 800 pillows. Besides being a budding entrepreneur, she is now on a mission.

"I want everyone to know how serious acid reflux is, and to take symptoms seriously," she said.

Losing weight, eating fewer foods that trigger heartburn and making other lifestyle adjustments can ease acid reflux. If necessary, medication also can help. But ignoring frequent heartburn can lead to a chronic condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease. The esophageal lining becomes irritated and inflamed. At worst, the irritation turns into cancer. Sometimes, though, it's easy to ignore even chronic heartburn because it may occur without symptoms or in unexpected ways.

"If you think about it ... you can have an ulcer that eats a hole in your stomach and not be aware of it," said Gigi Levebvre, a family physician in St. Petersburg.

"In the same way, you can have acid in the esophagus and not know it."

More Cases Seen

Levebvre said she has noticed an upward trend of acid reflux in the past few years. She's learned to recognize seemingly odd symptoms such as hoarseness or a chronic cough. One of Levebvre's patients found relief from troubled breathing at night after using the Prop Up Pillow. The patient had asthma and "would wake up in middle of the night when she couldn't breathe and she thought she was going to die," said Levebvre. It turned out that stomach acid was being aspirated into her lungs, which can occur with acid reflux.

Rose didn't have any symptoms other than a mild stomach rumbling. She managed a busy restaurant in St. Petersburg, a job that offered plenty of stress and barbecue, and figured the rumbling was all in a day's work. Like millions of Americans, she simply popped antiacids if it got too bad.

Cancerous Spots

While driving home four years ago, severe chest pain forced her to pull over. Terrified, Rose believed she was having a heart attack but tests showed she had the worst of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Some spots in the eroded lining of her esophagus were cancerous. Surgery scraped away the cancer cells and another operation tightened the ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus to keep stomach acid from splashing up. She was put on acid-controlling medications. She avoided dietary triggers.

"I did everything - no peppermint, no caffeine, no alcohol, no spicy foods," she said.

The only thing she didn't do was elevate her bed, because of the discomfort factor. When the pains came back five months after surgery - and her doctor warned the condition could become life-threatening if she didn't take care of night-time heartburn - she started working on the pillow design.

Changing her sleeping habits seems to have worked. Rose no longer has to take acid-reducing medications and tests haven't revealed more cancer.

"I sleep on the pillow every night; I don't have to think about it."

WHAT IS ACID REFLUX DISEASE?

Frequent heartburn may be a sign of acid reflux disease in which the esophagus becomes irritated or inflamed. Chronic inflammation may cause cells in the esophageal lining to change, raising the risk of cancer.

What Happens

The lower esophageal sphincter, a ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus, normally opens involuntarily when food is swallowed, then shuts. When this muscle weakens, it doesn't close completely and stomach acid can splash into the esophagus.

Finding Some Relief

Lifestyle changes such as losing weight and avoiding certain foods can help acid reflux. Medication also may be prescribed. Doctors recommend elevating the top of the bed by 6 to 8 inches because lying flat during sleep can allow stomach acid to flow into the esophagus.

The Prop-Up Pillow creates an incline for the head and torso and helps prevent stomach acid from rising into the esophagus and throat.