Chest Pain When Lying Down To Sleep
Treatment – There are several treatment options for pericarditis, depending on the cause of the condition and its severity. The most common ones include the following :
colchicine NSAIDs, such as ibuprofensteroids antibiotics, if an infection is causing pericarditis
In more severe cases, an individual may undergo surgery to treat pericarditis. It is best to seek medical help if chest pain comes on suddenly and with little to no relief from anti-inflammatory painkillers. Some signs to seek emergency medical care include :
pain radiating to the back, neck, and jawpain lasting more than 15 minutesthe chest feeling tight and heavyfeeling nauseous and vomiting excessive sweatinghaving blue lips or fingertips
These symptoms could indicate that a person is having a heart attack, so it is important to seek medical care immediately. Learn more about recognizing the signs of a heart attack and what to do. Chest pain when lying down can be a symptom of various conditions.
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Why does my chest feel tight when I lay down?
Skip to content When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Products or services advertised on this page may be offered by an entity that is affiliated with us. Learn more. Orthopnea is a shortness of breath some people experience when lying down, which goes away once they return to an upright position.
The definition of orthopnea comes from the Greek words for upright ( ortho ) and breath ( pnoea ). It’s often a sign of heart failure, but can be caused by other conditions, such as lung diseases, other heart conditions, and obesity. People who have orthopnea will begin having trouble breathing when they lie down.
Once they stand or sit up, their breathing normalizes again. This makes it distinct from other breathing conditions such as:
- Dyspnea, which describes the sensation of difficult breathing, regardless of position
- Platypnea, which describes difficulty breathing when standing
- Trepopnea, which describes difficulty breathing when lying on the side
Orthopnea is also distinct from paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (PND), a condition where the person experiences sudden difficulty breathing during sleep. Symptoms occur a few hours after the person has fallen asleep, and the sudden shortness of breath wakes them up. If you have orthopnea, you may feel short of breath upon lying down. The sensation may come on instantly or develop gradually. You may also feel tightness or pain in your chest or experience additional symptoms like wheezing, coughing, or heart palpitations.
- Once you stand or prop yourself up, your breathing improves, as do any other symptoms.
- The severity of orthopnea varies.
- Some people need just one pillow to prop themselves up and feel better, while others may need to sit fully upright or stand in order to feel relief.
- Some people with chronic heart failure may still exhibit symptoms of orthopnea even when sitting up, although they’ll feel better than they did when lying down.
Orthopnea itself is commonly a symptom of a heart or lung condition. Orthopnea occurs when there is a buildup of excess fluid that creates pressure around the lungs. When a person lies down, blood from the lower extremities is redistributed to the lungs.
If their heart is healthy, it can handle this additional volume around the lungs and pump it out adequately. When the heart is weakened by heart failure or another condition, it’s not strong enough to perform this process effectively. The extra blood takes longer to get out of the heart, increasing pressure on the lungs.
Fluid may leak out from blood vessels into small air sacs in the lungs, causing what’s known as pulmonary edema, These sacs assist with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body. When fluid builds up, it disrupts the exchange, making it harder for the lungs to distribute oxygen back into the bloodstream.
- Heart failure
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Obesity
- Anxiety or panic disorder
- Pulmonary edema
- Pneumonia
- Sleep apnea
- Snoring
A doctor suspects orthopnea when a person experiences shortness of breath when lying down, and they exhibit other symptoms of one of the conditions commonly associated with orthopnea, such as heart failure, COPD, obesity, anxiety, or another heart or lung disease.
- During your appointment, your doctor will ask you about the onset and timing of your symptoms, in order to distinguish orthopnea from another type of breathing difficulty.
- They will also ask you to describe the severity of your orthopnea; for example, they may ask how many pillows you need to use to feel relief.
If you haven’t yet been diagnosed with a related underlying condition, your doctor may order additional tests, such as a chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, pulmonary function test, or blood test, to evaluate for potential causes. Treatments for orthopnea are focused on minimizing symptoms and treating the underlying cause.
- Specific treatments for orthopnea include pillow positioning, supplemental oxygen, and medication.
- Depending on the severity of the underlying condition, doctors may prescribe lifestyle changes, medications, medical devices, or surgery.
- Propping yourself up with a pillow can help you breathe better by reducing pressure on the lungs and heart.
You can also use an adjustable mattress to raise the head of the bed, or foam wedges underneath the mattress. Your doctor may prescribe supplemental oxygen, which can be provided through an at-home device or at a hospital. If you are overweight or obese, your doctor may work with you to help reduce your weight.
A number of medications may be prescribed to improve orthopnea symptoms, including drugs that strengthen the heart, improve blood flow, or prevent fluid buildup or inflammation in the lungs. For example, if you have orthopnea due to heart failure, your doctor may prescribe diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or beta-blockers,
If your orthopnea is a symptom of COPD, your doctor may prescribe bronchodilators or inhaled steroids, If you regularly experience difficulty breathing, whether when lying down or doing something else, speak to your doctor. They can help determine what’s causing your breathing problems and recommend appropriate therapies, such as lifestyle changes, medication, and other treatments. Written By
Why does my heart hurt at night?
What causes heart palpitations at night? – Usually, heart palpitations are harmless and don’t result from an underlying health problem. They happen when the heart beats out of rhythm or contracts (beats) too soon. Providers call this a premature ventricular contraction (PVC) or premature atrial contraction (PAC).
Anxiety, stress and depression, Heart palpitations are common during a panic attack, Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Electrolytes are minerals in the body. They control your heart’s rhythm. Drugs, including diet pills and nasal decongestants that contain pseudoephedrine. Nicotine can also cause heart palpitations. Extra weight and obesity, People who carry extra weight have a higher risk of abnormal heart rhythms and heart disease. Fever, Hormonal changes during menopause and changes that happen to the body during pregnancy. Heart palpitations during pregnancy are very common and usually harmless. Some food and drinks, including alcohol, caffeine and chocolate. Foods that are high in carbohydrates, sodium (salt), sugar or fat can lead to heart palpitations.
Less commonly, heart palpitations result from a health condition or disorder, including:
Anemia (low red blood cell count). Heart disease, including heart attack, heart failure or cardiomyopathy, Heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias) including atrial fibrillation (Afib), tachycardia (fast heart rate) and bradycardia (slow heart rate). Hypotension (low blood pressure) or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar ). Metabolic syndrome, Myocarditis, inflammation of the heart’s muscles that results from a viral infection. Thyroid problems, such as hyperthyroidism, Structural problems in the heart, including valve disease,
Why does my chest only hurt at night?
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) Acid from your stomach comes up into your esophagus, making you feel burning or tightness (heartburn) under your breastbone. This chest pain may be worse when lying down because gravity can’t help keep stomach acid down like it does when you’re standing up.
Can anxiety give you a tight chest when lying down?
Another type of stress can also cause chest pain at nighttime when you are lying down: Mental stress. For example, your mind may begin racing as you try to fall asleep and anxiety can take over. ‘ Anxiety or panic disorder can cause heart-racing and palpitations as well as chest discomfort,’ Dr. Cork says.
Why does my heart feel weird when I lay down?
Some people get heart palpitations when they lay down because of their sleeping position. Sleeping hunched over on your side can increase pressure inside your body, which can cause palpitations. Other common causes of heart palpitations include: Alcohol consumption.
Do people have heart attacks at night?
How To Fix Chest Pain (Not Heart Related) #shorts
Novel Research from the Smidt Heart Institute Suggests Clinicians Should Be Cautious When Prescribing Certain Medications to High-Risk, Female Patients – New research from the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai has found for the first time that during nighttime hours, women are more likely than men to suffer sudden death due to cardiac arrest. Findings were published yesterday in the journal Heart Rhythm,
- Dying suddenly during nighttime hours is a perplexing and devastating phenomenon,” said Sumeet Chugh, MD, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention.
- We were surprised to discover that being female is an independent predictor of these events.” Medical experts are mystified, Chugh says, because during these late hours, most patients are in a resting state, with reduced metabolism, heart rate and blood pressure.
Sudden cardiac arrest–also called sudden cardiac death–is an electrical disturbance of the heart rhythm that causes the heart to stop beating. People often confuse sudden cardiac arrest with heart attack. However, a heart attack is caused by a buildup of cholesterol plaque that creates a blockage in the coronary arteries.
- And unlike a heart attack, when most have symptoms, sudden cardiac death can present in the absence of warning signs.
- Another major difference: Most people survive heart attacks, with only 10% of patients surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
- Of the approximately 350,000 people affected by the condition each year in the U.S., roughly 17% to 41% of cases occur during the nighttime hours of 10 p.m.
to 6 a.m. In the study, Chugh and his team of investigators looked at records of 4,126 patients, with 3,208 daytime cases of sudden cardiac arrest and 918 nighttime cases. Compared with daytime cases, patients who suffered from nighttime cardiac arrest were more likely to be female.
25.4% of females studied suffered cardiac arrest at night versus 20.6% of their male counterparts. The prevalence of lung disease was significantly higher in those who had a cardiac arrest at night compared with those who had cardiac arrest during the daytime. Those who had cardiac arrests in the nighttime had a higher prevalence of prior or current smoking history.
“The prevalence of chronic obstructive lung disease and asthma were found to be significantly higher in sudden cardiac arrest cases at night compared with daytime cases, regardless of gender,” said Chugh, also the Pauline and Harold Price Chair in Cardiac Electrophysiology Research. “Brain-affecting medications, some of which have the potential to suppress breathing, were also found to have a significantly greater usage in nighttime compared to daytime cardiac arrest.” Based on these findings, this research report suggests that prescribing physicians may wish to be cautious when recommending brain-affecting medications, for example, sedatives and drugs prescribed for pain and depression management, to high-risk patients, especially women.
“This important research may better guide physicians and the broader medical community to making more sound, science-backed recommendations in treating this difficult condition,” said Christine Albert, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute and the Lee and Harold Kapelovitz Distringuished Chair in Cardiology.
“It is also a necessary continuation of sex-based research defining much of the field of cardiology.” For two decades, Chugh has led the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study, a unique partnership with the approximately 1 million residents of the Portland, Oregon metro area as well as the provider organizations that care for them–the first responders, hospital systems and the medical examiner network.
Why does chest pain wake me up at night?
1. Heartburn – Waking up with chest pain may also be heartburn trying to get you to reach for some Pepto. Heartburn can strike when you lie down at night or after eating, potentially leading to some a.m. pain on the right side of the chest. Heartburn is usually caused by acid reflux, which is when that pesky stomach acid moves up your throat. Other symptoms include:
a burning sensation in your throatdifficulty swallowingfeeling like food is stuck in your throatan acidic taste in the back of your throat