Chest congestion, i.e. chest tightness, but lying down is better, may be due to pneumothorax, respiratory obstruction, heart disease and other causes.
1. Pneumothorax: It is a condition in which the pleural cavity is broken due to various reasons and air enters into the pleural cavity, leading to increased pressure in the pleural cavity, pressure on lung tissues, obstruction of venous blood flow back to the heart, resulting in varying degrees of cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction with limited inhalation. After lying down, the pressure in the chest cavity decreases, which can appear chest tightness but the phenomenon of lying down is better.
2. Respiratory tract obstruction: it may be caused by bronchial tumor, tracheo-bronchial stenosis, or chest tightness due to respiratory tract obstruction compressed by tumor of neighboring organs. When the patient lies down, the obstructed area can be relieved, thus chest tightness can occur but it gets better when lying down.
3. Heart disease: It refers to a kind of circulatory system disease that affects the normal operation of the heart, such as heart failure, arrhythmia, etc. Due to the abnormal function of the heart, it can cause chest tightness, chest pain and other phenomena. Lying flat helps the heart function, which can lead to chest tightness that gets better when you lie down flat.
Chest tightness that gets better when lying down can also be caused by other reasons, so it is recommended that the patient go to the hospital in time to find out the condition and follow the doctor’s instructions for treatment to avoid delaying the condition.