Does acid reflux cause chest tightness?

When stomach contents reach the oesophagus, irritation can cause burning, pressure, or a constricted feeling behind the breastbone. Reflux-related tightness may appear after eating, with bending, or when lying flat, and may accompany a sour taste or regurgitation. Chest sensations are not specific to reflux. Heart, lung, muscle, and anxiety-related causes can feel similar, so the context and associated symptoms matter.

During a familiar, mild episode that a clinician has already assessed as reflux, sit upright and avoid further food until the discomfort settles. Keep a record of meal timing, body position, and accompanying symptoms. Smaller meals and avoiding lying down soon after eating may help prevent episodes. Ask a pharmacist about an appropriate reflux treatment rather than taking someone else's medicine.

Seek emergency help for tightness that is sudden, severe, persistent, or associated with breathlessness, sweating, faintness, nausea, or pain spreading to the arm, back, neck, or jaw. Urgent assessment is also needed when it starts with exertion or feels different from previous reflux. Do not assume chest tightness is reflux solely because you have had heartburn before.

Ask what features support reflux and what features would suggest a heart or lung cause. Describe whether the sensation is burning, pressure, or squeezing; whether it follows food or activity; how long it lasts; and whether swallowing or breathing changes occur.