Can anxiety cause chest tightness for days?

Yes, anxiety can cause chest tightness that lasts for days, especially if the anxiety is ongoing. Panic attacks usually peak and fade within minutes, but chronic anxiety can keep the chest muscles tense and make discomfort linger. Anxiety can also lead to shallow or rapid breathing, which may leave a persistent tight feeling. In some people, anxiety can worsen acid reflux or trigger esophageal spasm, which can feel like chest pressure.

That said, chest tightness should not be assumed to be anxiety. Chest pressure or tightness can also be a symptom of serious emergencies such as a heart attack or pulmonary embolism. If the tightness is new, severe, worsening, or comes with shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, fainting, or pain spreading to the jaw, arm, or back, seek urgent medical care right away.