Causes of dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath

I believe that everyone sometimes experiences symptoms of dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Generally, if we experience symptoms of dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath, we will not pay much attention to it, because dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath are relatively common symptoms. However, if elderly friends experience dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath, then be careful that they may have coronary heart disease. Let’s take a look at the causes of dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath below.

Coronary atherosclerotic heart disease is a heart disease caused by atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries, which causes narrowing or blockage of the blood vessel lumen, resulting in myocardial ischemia, hypoxia or necrosis, and is often called "coronary heart disease." However, the scope of coronary heart disease may be broader, also including inflammation, embolism, etc. that lead to stenosis or occlusion of the lumen. The World Health Organization divides coronary heart disease into five major clinical types: asymptomatic myocardial ischemia (latent coronary heart disease), angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart failure (ischemic heart disease) and sudden death. In clinical practice, it is often divided into stable coronary heart disease and acute coronary syndrome.

Typical chest pain is caused by physical activity, emotional excitement, etc., and is a sudden pain in the precordial area, which is mostly paroxysmal colic or squeezing pain, or a feeling of stuffiness. The pain starts behind the sternum or in front of the heart, radiates upward to the left shoulder, arm, and even the little finger and ring finger. It can be relieved by resting or taking nitroglycerin. The chest pain may also radiate to the neck, jaw, teeth, abdomen, etc. Chest pain may also occur at rest or at night, caused by coronary artery spasm, also known as variant angina. If the nature of chest pain changes, such as new progressive chest pain, the pain threshold will gradually decrease, so that it may occur even with slight physical activity or emotional excitement, or even when resting or sleeping. The pain gradually intensifies, changes frequency, and lasts longer. It cannot be relieved by removing the cause or taking sublingual nitroglycerin. At this time, unstable angina is often suspected.

In the above article, we introduced a common symptom, which is dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath. We know that dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath may be related to coronary heart disease, so once we have symptoms of dizziness, chest tightness and shortness of breath, we must pay attention to it.