Panic attack
Panic attack: Introduction
A panic attack is a sudden episode of unreasoning fear or panic.
Many attacks cause such severe physical symptoms that people
go to the emergency room thinking that they are dying
or having a heart attack.
A single panic attack does not necessarily warrant the
diagnosis of panic disorder.
Panic attacks can also occur in other anxiety disorders such as phobias,
in which case the diagnosis is probably not panic disorder.
A panic attack feels very severe with both physical and mental symptoms.
Thought descriptions include feeling you're "losing control",
"going crazy", "losing my mind", or "going to die".
Physical symptoms include chest pain, sweating, breathlessness, faintness/dizziness
and various other symptoms.
Despite its severity, you cannot die, lose control or go crazy from a panic attack
(unless you already have some other underlying disorder or medical condition).
Symptoms of Panic attack
- Inexplicable fear symptoms:
- General descriptions of how a panic attack feels (or common thoughts during a panic attack):
- more symptoms...»
See full list of 58
symptoms of Panic attack
Home Diagnostic Testing
Home medical testing related to Panic attack:
- Child Behavior: Home Testing
- Mental Health (Adults): Home Testing
- Mental Health: Home Testing:
- Brain & Neurological Disorders: Related Home Testing:
- more tests...»
Panic attack: Complications
Read more about complications of Panic attack.
Disease Topics Related To Panic attack
Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Panic attack:
Medical Textbooks Online about Panic attack
Medical Books Excerpts
- ANXIETY
- "Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs" (2003)
- [ read ]
- CHEST PAIN
- "Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs" (2003)
- [ read ]
- Anxiety
- "In a Page: Signs and Symptoms" (2004)
- [ read ]
- Agitation
- "Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Anxiety
- "Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Chest pain
- "Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Chest Pain
- "A Pocket Manual of Differential Diagnosis" (1999)
- [ read ]
- Agitation
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Anxiety
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Chest pain
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Skin, clammy
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Anxiety
- "The 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter" (2000)
- [ read ]
- Anxiety
- "Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Chest pain
- "Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Skin, clammy
- "Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Agitation
- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Anxiety
- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Chest pain
- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Chest Pain
- "The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Agitation
- "Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Anxiety
- "Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms" (2007)
- [ read ]
Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Wrongly Diagnosed with Panic attack?
Panic attack: Self Assessment Tools
Panic attack: Medical Mistakes
Panic attack: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:
Misdiagnosis and Panic attack
Common asymptomatic heart disorder can cause anxiety-like conditions: Anxiety symptoms may be due to heart disorder - There is a reasonably
common heart disorder...read more »
Rare cancer hidden cause of panic symptoms: The rare cancer pheochromocytoma, an adrenal tumor, can initially
have symptoms similar to panic disorder.
Its symptoms may include anxiety, panic, sweating, increased...read more »
Thyroid disorder misdiagnosed as anxiety disorder: The book "A Dose of Sanity" reports on a case
where as woman was diagnosed with panic...read more »
Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who
had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness
because he...read more »
Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed,
leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed.
People become concerned that a condition is a heart...read more »
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course,...read more »
ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD
in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults.
Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the condition has usually been
overlooked...read more »
Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder)
often fails to be diagnosed...read more »
Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with
an eating disorder is female.
The result is that men with eating disorders often...read more »
Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be
undiagnosed in teenagers.
The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause...read more »
Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression)
may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of...read more »
Read more about Misdiagnosis and Panic attack
Panic attack: Research Doctors & Specialists
Research related physicians and medical specialists:
Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:
Hospitals & Clinics: Panic attack
Research quality ratings and patient safety measures
for medical facilities in specialties related to Panic attack:
Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »
Choosing the Best Hospital:
More general information, not necessarily in relation to Panic attack,
on hospital performance and surgical care quality:
Panic attack: Rare Types
Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:
Causes of Panic attack
See full list of 25
causes of Panic attack
More information about causes of Panic attack:
Latest Treatments for Panic attack
See full list of 13
latest treatments for Panic attack
News Archives for Panic attack
Medical news articles related to Panic attack include:
Source: HealthDay News
Evidence Based Medicine Research for Panic attack
Medical research articles related to Panic attack include:
Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database
Videos for Panic attack
Anxiety and worry can appear at any time; day or night. Sometimes you know why, sometimes it can appear out of the blue. Learn how these problems can...
If you've ever experienced an asthma attack, you know how frustrating and unpleasant it can be. And since anything from strong perfume to extreme...
Targeted therapies are not just for advanced cases non Hodgkin's lymphoma. Learn how they can help against indolent or low-grade cancers as well.
One of the newest treatments for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is radioimmunotherapy, a clever mixture of old and new that better targets cancer cells.
See full list of 8 related videos
Patient Surveys for Panic attack
Reseach about Panic attack
Visit our research pages for current research about Panic attack treatments.
Statistics for Panic attack
Panic attack: Broader Related Topics
Types of Panic attack
Stories from Users Related to Panic attack
Related forums and medical stories:
User Interactive Forums
Read about other experiences, ask a question about Panic attack, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:
Definitions of Panic attack:
Specific psychological phenomenon characterized by sudden onset of anxiety (often unrelated to objective events), accompanied by autonomic symptoms such as tachycardia, paresthesia, flushing, and sweating.
- (Source - Diseases Database)
A sudden attack of fear
- (Source - WordNet 2.1)
Contents for Panic attack:
- Panic attack
- What is Panic attack?
- Online Medical Textbooks for Panic attack
- Prevalence and Incidence of Panic attack
- Videos related to Panic attack
- Types of Panic attack
- Causes of Panic attack
- Risk Factors for Panic attack
- Symptoms of Panic attack
- Diagnostic Tests for Panic attack
- Diagnosis of Panic attack
- Signs of Panic attack
- Complications of Panic attack
- Misdiagnosis of Panic attack
- Undiagnosed Panic attack
- Misdiagnosis of Underlying Causes of Panic attack
- Misdiagnosis of Medication Causes of Panic attack
- Associated Conditions of Panic attack
- Treatments for Panic attack
- Alternative Treatments for Panic attack
- Doctors and Medical Specialists for Panic attack
- Cure Research for Panic attack
- Statistics about Panic attack
- Medical News Summaries About Panic attack
- Hospital Statistics for Panic attack
- Articles about Panic attack
- Glossary for Panic attack
- External links relating to Panic attack
- ANXIETY (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)
- CHEST PAIN (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)
- DROP ATTACKS (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)
- Anxiety (In a Page: Signs and Symptoms)
- Chest Pain (In a Page: Signs and Symptoms)
- Chest Pain (In A Page: Pediatric Signs and Symptoms)
- CHEST PAIN (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
- DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND OTHER ABNORMAL PSYCHIC STATES (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
- DROP ATTACKS (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
- Agitation (Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition))
- Anxiety (Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition))
- Chest pain (Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition))
- Skin, clammy (Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition))
- Chest Pain (A Pocket Manual of Differential Diagnosis)
- Generalized anxiety disorder (Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
- Panic disorder (Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
- Agitation (Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))
- Anxiety (Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))
- Chest pain (Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))
- Skin, clammy (Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))
- Anxiety (The 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter)
- Chest Pain, Atypical (The 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter)
- Chest Pain, Substernal (The 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter)
- Anxiety (Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)
- Acute Nonpleuritic Chest Pain (Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)
- Pleuritic Chest Pain (Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)
- Anxiety disorder, generalized (Handbook of Diseases)
- Panic disorder (Handbook of Diseases)
- Chest pain (Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series)
- Skin, clammy (Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series)
- Agitation (Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses)
- Anxiety (Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses)
- Chest pain (Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses)
- Skin, clammy (Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses)
- Chest Pain (The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics)
- Agitation (Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms)
- Anxiety (Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms)
- Chest pain (Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms)
- Skin, clammy (Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms)
- CHEST PAIN (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
- DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND OTHER ABNORMAL PSYCHIC STATES (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
- DROP ATTACKS (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
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