Hi Karl. So to address the questions. The risks of this condition being extended is that something else would develop and it could be anything else, because this is a digestive problem. When you have heartburn it is a sign that digestion is not happening properly if at all in the stomach and that will affect how much nutrients you eventually get from your food. If you're not getting enough nutrition from the food, an entire host of other diseases can come along later, it is impossible to predict. So it is important you overcome this.
You will find this video extremely informative:
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf8YSfMEyqA