'long term damage'

What is a hiatal hernia? A hiatal hernia occurs when the top of your stomach pushes up through an opening in your diaphragm into your chest. Your diaphragm is the muscle barrier that separates your abdominal cavity from your chest cavity. A hernia is when any organ or tissue pushes through a weakness in the tissue barrier that normally contains it. Hernias are common, and hiatal hernias are among the most common types. Hiatal hernias push through a preexisting weakness in your diaphragm — the opening where your esophagus passes through to connect to your stomach. Healthcare providers call this opening the esophageal hiatus, which is where the term, hiatal hernia, or hiatus hernia, comes from. Stress and strain can widen this opening over time. This condition usually develops slowly over many years