What causes chest tightness and rapid heartbeat? Heart disease is the most common

If you always have chest tightness and rapid heartbeat, you should be alert as it may be a precursor to heart disease. The most common one is coronary heart disease. Heart disease needs to be taken seriously. You can do an electrocardiogram to confirm the condition and pay attention to it in your daily life.

1. Medical history and physical examination

Doctors first ask whether the person has symptoms that may indicate heart disease, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, swelling in the legs, and palpitations. Then find out if there are other symptoms, such as fever, weakness, fatigue, poor appetite, and malaise, which may also be related to heart disease. The next step is to understand the subject's past infections, exposure to chemicals, drugs, alcohol and tobacco, home and work environment, and recreational activities. Doctors also ask whether family members have had heart disease or other disorders and whether the person has other disorders that affect the cardiovascular system.

2. During the physical examination, pay attention to weight, general condition, and whether the patient has pale complexion, excessive sweating, or drowsiness. Heart disease can affect your mood and feelings about your health. Pallor or cyanosis may indicate anemia or hypoperfusion (which may be due to lung disease, heart failure, or various circulatory diseases), so it is important to observe skin color.

3. By palpating the carotid artery, axillary artery, elbow artery, wrist artery, abdominal aorta, inguinal artery, iliac artery, ankle artery and dorsalis pedis artery , estimate whether the blood flow is sufficient and whether the two sides are symmetrical. Measure blood pressure and temperature. These abnormalities all contribute to the diagnosis of heart disease. Doctors always check the jugular vein because it is directly connected to the right atrium of the heart and is an indicator of the pressure and volume of blood entering the right side of the heart. During the examination, the subject is required to lie down with the upper body raised at a 40-degree angle to the ground. Sometimes, the person may lie down, sit, or stand.

4. The doctor presses the skin of the ankles, calves, and sometimes the lower back to check for edema in the subcutaneous tissue. An ophthalmoscope (an instrument used to examine the inside of the eye) is used to examine the blood vessels and nerves of the retina (the light-sensitive membrane at the back of the eye). Patients with hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and bacterial infection of heart valves often have abnormal fundus.

5. Observe the chest to determine whether the respiratory rate and respiratory movements are normal, then tap the chest wall with your fingers (percussion) to determine whether the lungs are completely filled with air; percussion can also help determine whether there is pericardial or pleural effusion. Using a stethoscope, doctors can determine whether the airways are open and whether there is fluid in the lungs due to heart failure.

6. The doctor places his hands on the chest wall to determine the size of the heart and the type and strength of each heart contraction . Sometimes abnormal, turbulent blood flow within blood vessels or between heart chambers causes tremors that can be felt in the fingertips or palms.

Using a stethoscope, you can hear the different sounds caused by the opening and closing of the heart valves. Disturbed blood flow (turbulence) caused by abnormalities in the valves or structure of the heart can produce a characteristic sound (murmur). Turbulent flow typically occurs when blood flows through a narrow or leaky valve. Not all heart diseases produce murmurs, and not all murmurs indicate the presence of heart disease. Heart murmurs are common in pregnant women and are the result of a normal increase in blood flow. In infants and children, harmless murmurs often occur because blood flows faster and the heart structure is smaller. Even in elderly individuals without serious underlying heart disease, turbulence is prone to occur due to the gradual hardening of blood vessel walls, valves, and other tissues.