Why heaviness in chest

Peptic ulcer: These are painful sores that develop when acid in the digestive tract eats away at the lining inside your stomach, esophagus or small intestine. The most common symptom is stomach pain, which can radiate to the middle of your chest. Pulmonary conditions: Pneumonia, bronchitis, pleurisy and other lung infections can make breathing difficult and cause chest pain.

Boerhaave syndrome: This is a rupture in the esophagus that often is caused by heavy vomiting. Other causes include weightlifting, epileptic seizures, abdominal trauma and childbirth, all of which can increase pressure in the esophagus and cause a rupture. More News. UAB Experts. Featured Video. Tweets by UABNews. Contact Us. University Relations. UAB Home. 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 buildup and inflammation narrows your arteries, decreasing the blood flow to the heart. This can cause pain and a number of other symptoms, including:. In this case, you need to seek immediate medical treatment. A variety of lifestyle changes can both prevent and treat coronary artery disease.

However, a number of medications and procedures are also available, depending on the severity of your case. Learn more about coronary artery disease. Esophageal contraction disorder is characterized by painful contractions in the esophagus. The esophagus is the muscular tube that connects your mouth and stomach.

These spasms usually feel like sudden, severe chest pain, and they can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. If your esophagus spasms only occasionally, you may not want to seek treatment. However, if this condition prevents you from eating and drinking, you may want to see what your doctor can do for you. They may recommend that you:. Learn more about esophageal contraction disorder. People with esophageal hypersensitivity are extremely sensitive to conditions that may affect the esophagus.

They may report more frequent and intense symptoms, such as chest pain and heartburn. However, if it occurs simultaneously with conditions like GERD, the pain can be debilitating. The symptoms of esophageal hypersensitivity are typically identical to those of GERD. Initial treatment usually involves acid suppressants. Other medications or surgery may be necessary. A rupture of the esophagus is a tear or a hole in the esophagus.

The esophagus is the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach, where food and liquids pass through. Though uncommon, esophageal rupture is a life threatening condition. Intense pain is the first symptom of this condition, usually where the rupture occurred, but also in your general chest area.

Prompt treatment can help prevent infection and other complications. It can become trapped in the tissue of your lungs and cause infections and breathing difficulties. Most people will need surgery to close the rupture. Learn more about esophageal rupture. The mitral valve lies between the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart.

As the left atrium fills with blood, the mitral valve opens, and blood flows into the left ventricle. Symptoms vary greatly from person to person and can worsen over time. They include:. Only some cases of mitral valve prolapse require treatment. However, your doctor may recommend medications or surgery, depending on the severity of your condition. Learn more about mitral valve prolapse.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy HCM is a disease that causes the heart muscle to be abnormally thick, or hypertrophied. This typically makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. Many people never experience symptoms and can go their whole lives without being diagnosed. Treatment of HCM depends on the severity of your symptoms. You can use medications to relax the heart muscle and slow your heart rate, undergo surgery, or implant a small device, called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator ICD , into your chest.

An ICD continuously monitors your heartbeat and fixes dangerous abnormal heart rhythms. Learn more about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 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. Pericarditis occurs when the pericardium becomes infected and swells. When swollen, the pericardium may rub against the heart, causing chest pain. When the diagnosis is uncertain after a typical stress test, there are advanced tests that can be performed to evaluate for microvascular disease.

Because microvascular angina affects tiny arteries, surgical treatments that can be used on larger arteries are not an option. However, medications can reduce symptoms and improve heart health. Medications prescribed for microvascular angina include:. Women with microvascular angina have increased rates of stroke, heart attack and heart failure.