Most people associate chest heaviness and discomfort with a heart attack, although a handful of other common causes exist. Any kind of chest heaviness that occurs at any time needs to be medically evaluated, especially when it occurs associated with exercise. Chest heaviness can be potentially serious, and only a doctor can determine the true cause.
Heart Attack Symptoms
One of the characteristic signs of a heart attack includes chest heaviness that occurs in the center of your chest and comes on during exercise, as your heart muscle is not receiving as much oxygen. Symptoms can also include pain in the jaw or one or both arms and shortness of breath. If you have certain cardiac risk factors like smoking, drinking heavily or a family history of coronary artery disease and heart attack, your chest heaviness is more likely heart-related. Only a physician can make this determination.
Stress Test
If you go to your doctor complaining of chest heaviness, she may order an exercise stress test that indicates whether your heart is getting enough blood and oxygen during exercise. During the test, you exercise on a treadmill for about 10 minutes. Your blood pressure is taken immediately before the test, and you are taped with wires that allow health professionals to monitor the electrical activity of your heart during the test. If walking on the treadmill causes a symptom like chest heaviness or discomfort, this is highly suggestive of a heart problem.
Asthma
Chest heaviness that occurs in association with exercise may not always indicate a heart problem. Sometimes asthma can occur in association with exercise, which is called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. These symptoms can occur even if you don't have asthma at other times but are even more likely to occur if you do have asthma. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, symptoms of EIB usually begin about five to 20 minutes after you start exercising and include feeling of chest heaviness and tightness in addition to wheezing and shortness of breath.
Panic Attack
A panic attack occurs due to increased anxiety and the release of adrenalin in response to panic. This release of adrenalin throughout the body can cause chest pain or heaviness in addition to symptoms of heart palpatations, increased breathing, trembling, headache and gastrointestinal distress. Exercise can decrease anxiety; however, if a panic attack occurs at any time during exercise, you may experience chest discomfort and heaviness that mimics a heart attack.
References
- American Heart Association: Taking Care of Yourself
- DoctorsLounge; Chest Heavines, Goes Away After a Short Rest; Dr. Yasser Mokhtar; January 2004
- Harvard Medical School: Harvard Health Publications: Exercise Stress Test
- American Academy of Allery Asthma & Immunology; Tips to Remember: Asthma and Exercise; 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder; March 2010
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