22nd February 2024

Symptoms

A panic attack is an episode of sudden panic and intense feeling of discomfort, which involves the following:

• Rapid heart rate or pounding chest.
• Palpitations
• Hyperventilation
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightness or discomfort
• Shaking or trembling
• Paraesthesia
• Abdominal pain 
• Nausea 
• Feeling like the patient is dying or suffocating.

Symptoms can last from minutes to hours. Patients presenting with a panic disorder will have these attacks frequently and without notice. Whilst panic attacks usually occur due to a trigger, in panic disorder they also occur spontaneously, without a trigger. Due to the frequency of these attacks, individuals develop maladaptive behaviours. They become excessively worried about having more attacks in the future and/or are concerned about the consequences of having further attacks. These can be worries about having a heart attack, developing an injury whilst having a panic attack, worry about death due to lack of oxygen going to the brain, or worry about the panic attack not stopping once it starts. Maladaptive behaviours can manifest as excessive use of health services or avoidance behaviours, such as avoidance of people, situations or environments which the patient considers to be a trigger.