What does tightness in your chest mean

They usually include pain, squeezing, pressure, or tightness in your chest, pain in your arms, neck, jaw, shoulder, or back, nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, sweating, and dizziness. For example, if you know you have asthma and your chest tightness gets better when you use your prescribed medication, you can consider checking in with your doctor in a few days, Dr.

Even if your symptoms respond to the drugs, this could be a sign that your asthma action plan needs tweaking. Totally normal—this is not something many people can overcome on their own.

Treatment methods like cognitive behavioral therapy may help, and many drugs, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants , are meant to relieve panic attack symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic.

If you do, treatment methods like antacids to neutralize your stomach acid may help. Other symptoms are more worrisome, Dr. Or if you've been experiencing other symptoms of coronavirus, like fever and a cough, and then you also develop persistent chest pain or tightness in your chest, that's a sign you need to seek help immediately. Of course, these are loose guidelines. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. COVID the new coronavirus.

Bottom line: You should talk to your doctor about chest tightness, no matter how it presents, but there are a few red flags that you need to seek help immediately.

Korin is a former New Yorker who now lives at the beach. She received a double B. Korin has been published in Read more. Topics asthma respiratory health heartburn panic attacks dvt coronavirus anxiety. Sign up for our SELF Daily Wellness newsletter All the best health and wellness advice, tips, tricks, and intel, delivered to your inbox every day. Pneumonia is an infection of one or both of your lungs. Your lungs are filled with small air sacs that help oxygen get into the blood.

When you have pneumonia, these small air sacs become inflamed and may even become filled with pus or fluid. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on your infection, with mild symptoms resembling those of the common flu. In addition to chest tightness, other symptoms include:. You should seek out your doctor as soon as you suspect you have pneumonia. Asthma is a condition in which 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 for those who have asthma. The severity of asthma varies from person to person. Those who have this condition need to manage their symptoms.

You can also have occupational and allergy-induced asthma, where irritants in the workplace or environment make the symptoms worse. Asthma symptoms can be managed with prescription medications. Talk to your doctor about ways to determine if you need emergency treatment when feeling short of breath. Peptic ulcers occur when a sore develops on the lining of the stomach, esophagus, or small intestine. Other symptoms are:. However, an empty stomach can make your symptoms worse. A hiatal hernia is a condition in which part of the stomach pushes up through the diaphragm, or the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen.

In many cases, you may never even notice that you have a hiatal hernia. However, a large hiatal hernia will cause food and acid to back up into the esophagus, causing heartburn. Learn more about hiatal hernia.

In most cases, a fractured rib is caused by some sort of trauma, causing the bone to crack. Though deeply painful, broken ribs usually heal on their own in 1 or 2 months. Pain is the most severe and common symptoms of an injured rib. It usually gets worse when you take a deep breath, press on the injured area, or bend or twist your body. Treatment usually involves pain medication and physical therapy, such as breathing exercises. Learn more about fractured ribs. Other symptoms include:. Shingles usually lasts between 2 to 6 weeks.

Pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas is inflamed. The pancreas is located in the upper abdomen, tucked behind the stomach. Its role is to produce enzymes that help regulate the way your body processes sugar.

Pancreatitis can go away on its own after a few days acute pancreatitis , or it can be chronic, developing into a life threatening illness. Initial treatments may include fasting to give your pancreas a break , pain medication, and IV fluids. From there, treatment may vary depending on the underlying cause of your pancreatitis. Learn more about pancreatitis. Pulmonary hypertension PH is a type of high blood pressure within the arteries of the lungs and the right side of the heart.

The rise in blood pressure is caused by changes in the cells that line the pulmonary arteries. These changes cause the walls of the arteries to become stiff, thick, inflamed, and tight. This can reduce or block blood flow, raising the blood pressure in these arteries. This condition may not be noticeable for many years, but symptoms usually become apparent after a number of years. Finding the underlying cause for your PH can be crucial in treatment as well.

Learn more about pulmonary hypertension. Gallstones are small pieces of solid material that form within the gallbladder, a small organ located under the liver. The gallbladder stores bile, a green-yellow liquid that helps with digestion.

However, you may have a gallstone that requires treatment if you experience sudden pain in the upper right portion or center of your abdomen, in addition to:. In these cases, you may need to have surgery to remove the gallbladder.

Costochondritis is the inflammation of the cartilage in the rib cage. It can also cause many physical symptoms. Experiencing anxiety can lead to a heavy or tight feeling in the chest. Other physical symptoms of anxiety include:. A panic attack involves experiencing many of these symptoms at once.

Panic attack symptoms feel intense and overwhelming. If a person has not had a panic attack before, they may mistake their symptoms for those of a heart attack. Experiencing a panic attack can make a person feel like they are in physical danger, but these attacks are not physically harmful.

Symptoms usually pass after 10—20 minutes. If a person has panic attacks often, they may have a type of anxiety disorder called panic disorder. Depression is another psychological cause of a heavy feeling in the chest. A study found a link between having depression and experiencing recurrent chest pain.

A person with depression may experience physical symptoms because depression affects how people feel pain. One theory is that this is because depression affects the neurotransmitters that govern both pain and mood. People with depression may also experience chest heaviness due to an increase in perceived stress.

Unexplained aches and pains accompanied by feeling low, hopeless, guilty, or worthless may be a sign of depression. Chest pain may result from intercostal muscle strain, which can happen when a person overstretches and pulls the muscle that holds the ribs in place. Straining the intercostal muscles may put pressure on the ribs and cause a heavy feeling in the chest. Gastroesophageal reflux disease GERD is a digestive disorder that can cause chest pain.

As well as chest pain, it may cause:. Pericarditis pain may get worse if a person lies down. Pericarditis is a heart problem that may cause chest pain. The pericardium is the name of the layers of tissue surrounding the heart. The classic symptoms of heartburn — a painful, burning sensation behind the breastbone — can be caused by problems with the heart or the stomach. If you have new or unexplained chest pain or think you're having a heart attack, call or emergency medical assistance immediately.

Don't ignore the symptoms of a heart attack. If you can't get an ambulance or emergency vehicle to come to you, have a neighbor or a friend drive you to the nearest hospital.

Drive yourself only if you have no other option. Some types of chest pain are associated with injuries and other problems affecting the structures that make up the chest wall, including:. Chest pain care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Chest pain appears in many forms, ranging from a sharp stab to a dull ache.

Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic.