What causes breath holding, chest tightness and hiccups?

Chest tightness is a common symptom in life. For example, some people may feel chest tightness because they are too tired. For example, some people are always angry, and therefore feel chest tightness. In addition, chest tightness may also be caused by some diseases and must be given enough attention. So, what is going on when the symptoms of breath holding, chest tightness and hiccups appear together in life?

Many urban white-collar workers often have irregular meals and are often under stress. Especially in the technology industry, people only have half an hour to eat, so the proportion of gastrointestinal problems is naturally increasing. According to statistics, the incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease in China has increased more than five times in the past 20 years, and about 25% of people suffer from this disease. Therefore, when many people experience hiccups and chest tightness, their first reaction is that they have gastroesophageal reflux disease. But in fact, you may suffer from another disease that seems to have nothing to do with the symptoms - anxiety disorder!

Domestic and foreign studies have shown that more than 40% of gastroesophageal reflux disease patients have "reflux disease without skin damage", that is, they have obvious typical symptoms but no esophageal damage under gastroscopy. This is a very strange finding because the pH of stomach acid is very low, and the strong acid should cause significant erosion in the esophagus or throat tissues that do not have much protection.

In clinical practice, many patients with generalized anxiety disorder experience bloating, hiccups, chest tightness, or a clogged feeling in the throat. Some of them have been diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease by the gastroenterology department, and it is "reflux disease without skin break". Although they have been treated with drugs for a period of time, their symptoms have not improved significantly. Generalized anxiety disorder can cause autonomic nervous system abnormalities and muscle tension, resulting in bloating, hiccups, chest tightness, or a foreign body sensation in the throat. They may also experience some acid reflux, but it is less common and less severe.

One study also found that among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, the incidence of generalized anxiety disorder was as high as 14%, but this number may actually be as high as 40-50% (due to some problems with the current diagnostic criteria). With the heavy promotion of pharmaceutical companies, doctors often overdiagnose gastroesophageal reflux or overestimate its severity; and ignore the possibility of anxiety disorder, let alone effective treatment. Therefore, patients with bloating, hiccups, chest tightness, or a foreign body sensation in the throat should consider generalized anxiety disorder and seek help from a psychiatrist or psychosomatic physician if they have the following symptoms:

1. The so-called acid overflow and heartburn are not obvious and frequent, but there is frequent bloating and foreign body sensation in the throat. 2. Gastroscopy did not find any obvious findings, and the treatment effect of the special medicine for inhibiting gastric acid was not good.

3.Combined with tension, excessive worry, tight shoulders and neck, headaches, dizziness, irritability, and difficulty sleeping

If you experience any of the above three symptoms, you may want to consider treating your anxiety instead of your GERD!