Or, if you're particularly concerned about the new coronavirus, it might make you wonder if you're dealing with that. If you can't tell if it's anxiety or coronavirus, see the CDC's website about symptoms of coronavirus here. If you're still not sure, seek medical attention by reaching out to your doctor, who can help you figure out what's going on. Meanwhile, if it turns out that you're actually dealing with pandemic-induced anxiety, you might find this helpful: What to Do If Your Anxiety About Coronavirus Feels Overwhelming.
Asthma screws with the passages that transport air into your lungs to supply your body with oxygen. If you have asthma, encountering certain triggers can cause these airways to misbehave more than the most rambunctious of toddlers, and may cause you to feel a tightness in your chest.
Exposure to a trigger like pet dander, pollen , mold, cold air, or even exercise can cause your airways to swell, making the muscles around them tighten, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
At the same time, your panicky airways pump out more mucus to try to help the situation. Casciari says. This difficulty inhaling and exhaling can make your chest feel tight from built-up pressure, he explains.
Beyond that shortness of breath, if you have asthma-induced chest tightness, you may also experience wheezing a high-pitched noise when you breathe , coughing, and trouble sleeping, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you get mild acid reflux at least twice a week or more severe instances of it at least once a week, you might have gastroesophageal reflux disease GERD , the more intense form of this condition.
No matter the severity of your case, when your stomach acid bubbles up into your esophagus, the irritation can cause the tight, burning, painful sensation in your chest that you may know as heartburn.
You may also be able to taste food or stomach acid way back in your mouth and experience additional symptoms like bad breath, nausea and vomiting, a hard time swallowing, respiratory problems, and the erosion of your teeth over time due to all that acid, according to the NIDDK. This air then applies pressure to the outside of your lung, forcing it to collapse. Among other causes, your lung can collapse because of something like a chest injury or a lung disease such as pneumonia or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD , this is a long-term lung disease that most often happens because of smoking , the Mayo Clinic explains.
Whatever the reason, the main symptoms of a collapsed lung are sudden chest pain and shortness of breath. The pain tends to be pretty sharp and located in the area where the lung has collapsed, and in some cases, people register it as chest tightness instead, Dr.
A pulmonary embolism happens when something blocks one of the arteries in your lungs that transports blood, the Mayo Clinic explains. That something is usually a blood clot that, after forming in your legs this is called deep vein thrombosis , broke off and traveled to your lungs.
A pulmonary embolism might actually kill parts of your lungs, making it harder than usual to breathe, Jennifer Haythe , M. This can lead to a tight-feeling, painful chest. Other symptoms generally include out-of-the-blue shortness of breath that intensifies when you push yourself physically and a cough that may be bloody. You should also keep an eye out for issues like fever, heavy sweating , dizziness, and leg pain or swelling.
Symptoms of angina and a heart attack are pretty similar. 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. About 40 million adults in the United States have an anxiety disorder. Chest tightness is one symptom of anxiety. There are others that may occur simultaneously, including:. You may find that your anxiety culminates in a panic attack , which can last for 10 to 20 minutes.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease, often referred to as GERD, occurs when stomach acid travels back up from the stomach to the esophagus, the tube connecting your mouth and stomach. Most people experience some form of acid reflux from time to time.
However, people with GERD experience these symptoms at least twice a week, or more severe symptoms once a week. 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:. 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. 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.
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