Cough GERD is a disease in which the digestive acids actually back up into the esophagus and cause burning pain that can lead to chronic GERD cough, digestive bleeding, and even cancer of the esophagus. The disease is caused by the location of the acid, not by the acid itself. In fact, the stomach acid of the cough GERD sufferer is not unusually excessive. It's just that the acid is supposed to be going down, not coming back up. Nature didn't intend for it to back up into your esophagus like water in a clogged drain.
Because we don't have Drano-type medications to clear this clog and completely stop the refluxive action of the acid, physicians usually must treat cough GERD with acid component instead.
The primary symptoms of cough GERD is cough and heartburn, so most laypeople and experts use the words "heartburn", acid reflux, and GERD interchangeably - although sometimes other symptoms of cough GERD such as chest pains are far more troubling and distressing.