Food should be chewed well.  It is wise to eat food sitting upright, accompanied by fizzy drinks to ensure that the gullet is kept clear.  Using several pillows or raising the head of the bed on wooden supports so that you sleep fairly upright can also be helpful.  After dilatation or surgery, acid may be able to rise from the stomach into the gullet through the weakened valve, causing heartburn.
    
If heartburn develops after treatment it is important to consult your doctor as medication may be needed to reduce the acid regurgitation.  Any recurrence of swallowing difficulties or weight loss should be reported to your doctor.  Chest pain may persist after effective treatment.  This may be difficult to cure, but drinks of cold water often give relief.

Is there a familial tendency?

There is nothing to indicate that achalasia is an inherited illness.  Women with achalasia can have a normal pregnancy and their children will develop normally.

Is there any risk of cancer?

If the gullet contains a large amount of food which does not pass into the stomach in the normal way, the risk of cancer of the gullet is slightly increased.  It is therefore important to relieve the hold up by appropriate treatment even if symptoms are not disabling.