Excessive sweating Choking sensation Trembling or shaking Difficulty getting one's breath Smothering sensations. Faintness, diziness or lightheadedness Feeling things in the environment are strange or unreal Feeling detached from one's body, having a floating sensation Fear of going crazy or losing control Fear of dying or that something terrible is going to happen Tingling or numbness in parts of the body Hot flashes or chills A panic attack is considered a part of larger Panic Disorder when the attack is followed by a minimum of one month in which the individual maintains a persistent concern of having another episode. Symptoms beginning after age 45 are atypical and could indicate an underlying medical condition. Accurate diagnosis is important as other medical conditions can cause symptoms which closely resemble panic disorder. These include hyperthyroidism, cardiac arrhythmias, hypoglycemia, mitral valve prolapse, phochromosytoma, pulmonary embolus, Cushing's syndrome, electrolyte abnormalities, menopause and temporal lobe epilepsy.
Panic Disorder can exist comorbidly with medical as well as other psychiatric disorders.
There is no single answer to this question. A number of factors appear to contribute to the etiology of Panic Disorder. These include heredity, biology, conditioning, family environment and upbringing, current life stress, personal belief system, individual ability to recognize, monitor and control emotions, and many other factors. Research indicates that Panic Disorder, although often chronic, is a treatable condition. Treatment is often a combination of nonpharmacologic options including patient education, counseling and supportive psychotherapy, as well as pharmacologic intervention.