Surgery and stronger medications are options for those who experience debilitating GERD. Muscle strain is a common cause of tightness in the chest. Straining of the intercostal muscles, in particular, can cause symptoms.
In fact, 21 to 49 percent of all musculoskeletal chest pain comes from straining the intercostal muscles. These muscles are responsible for attaching your ribs to one another. Muscle strain typically occurs from intense activity, like reaching or lifting when twisting. There are a number of at-home treatments to try before seeing your doctor and seeking out physical therapy.
Though strains typically take a while to heal, sticking closely to your physical therapy regimen can help alleviate some of the stress of the healing process. 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. In most cases, the condition affects the cartilage that connects the upper ribs attached to the breastbone, or sternum.
Pain associated with this condition usually:. Chest pain that results from this condition can range from mild to severe.
In mild cases, your chest will feel tender to the touch. In severe cases, you may also experience shooting pain in your limbs. The pain usually subsides on its own after several weeks. Learn more about costochondritis. Coronary artery disease occurs when the major blood vessels that supply your heart with blood, oxygen, and nutrients become damaged or diseased.
In most cases, this damage results from the buildup of a waxy substance, called plaque, and inflammation in these arteries. 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.
Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Tintinalli JE, et al. Chest pain. McGraw Hill; Accessed Sept. McConaghy JR. Outpatient evaluation of the adult with chest pain. Rushton S, et al. Chest pain: If it is not the heart, what is it?
The Nursing Clinics of North America. What is a heart attack? American Heart Association. McKean SC, et al. In: Principles and Practice of Hospital Medicine. 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. Pericarditis occurs when the pericardium becomes infected and swells. When swollen, the pericardium may rub against the heart, causing chest pain. The pain typically gets better when a person sits upright and worse when they lie down.
Angina can cause a feeling of pressure in the chest. It happens when the heart muscle does not get enough blood, and it is a symptom of coronary artery disease. Chest discomfort is one symptom of a heart attack. A heart attack is a medical emergency, so anyone who suspects that they are having one should seek immediate medical care.
Pneumonia can cause chest pain that worsens when a person coughs or breathes deeply. It is a complication of the flu and other respiratory infections. Other symptoms of pneumonia include:.
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