Feeling heaviness or tightness in your chest is extremely common, even though it should not be ignored. According to experts, there can be many reasons behind it.
You may experience it while lying down at night, waking up in the morning, or even when you exercise.
While some may have a serious underlying health condition behind it, experts say chest pain is usually not life-threatening.
What happens during chest pain or tightness?
According to doctors, chest pain symptoms can vary from one person to another. Some of the common signs include:
- Chest tightness
- The fullness of the chest
- Chest burning
- Crushing pain that may spread to the neck or arms
- Breathlessness
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Cold sweats
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Sour taste in the mouth
- Pain in swallowing
What can cause sudden pain in your chest?
According to doctors, even though the exact cause behind tightness, pain, and heaviness in the chest can only be known once you go for a medical diagnosis, a few reasons could be:
Heart problems
Chest tightness and pressure could be directly linked to having certain heart problems and issues, a few of which include:
- Heart attack
- Angina pain
Doctors say it happens due to buildup and inflammation which narrows your arteries, decreasing the blood flow to the heart.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a common condition that millions across the world suffer from. Feeling tight and heavy in the chest is among the symptoms of anxiety. Others may occur simultaneously, including:
- Breathing rapidly
- Difficulty breathing
- Pounding heart
- Dizziness
- Tightening and aching muscles
- Nervousness
GERD
Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD happens when acid in your stomach travels back up from the stomach to the esophagus, the tube connecting your mouth and stomach.
Along with a tight chest, other symptoms of GERD include:
- A burning sensation in the chest
- Difficulty swallowing
- Chest pain
- Feeling of a lump in your throat
Most people experience some form of acid reflux from time to time.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia happens when you get an infection in one or both lungs. In pneumonia, your lungs get inflamed and may even become filled with pus or fluid, blocking oxygen and causing you breathing difficulties.
Symptoms of pneumonia range from mild to severe, depending on your infection, with mild symptoms resembling those of the common flu. A few other symptoms include:
- Chest pain
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Sweating, fever, chills
- Breathlessness
Pulmonary hypertension
According to doctors, feeling a heavy and pressured chest could also mean you may be suffering from Pulmonary hypertension – a type of high blood pressure within the arteries of the lungs.
It is mainly caused due to changes in the cells that line the pulmonary arteries. These changes cause the walls of the arteries to become stiff, thick, inflamed, and tight, reducing or blocking blood flow.
Asthma
In asthma, the airways in your lungs become inflamed, narrow, and swollen. This, in addition to the production of extra mucus, can make it hard to breathe. Doctors say the severity of asthma varies from one person to another. Chest tightness is a common sign of asthma, along with:
- Breathlessness
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- A whistling or wheezing sound when exhaling
