My heart was pounding, my chest hurt, and it was getting harder to breathe. I thought I was going to die. I'm so afraid.
Panic attacks are sudden overwhelming episodes of terror that occur for no apparent reason.
Because some of the body's responses affect the heart and circulation, people experiencing panic attacks often believe they are having a heart attack. As described above, the symptoms of a panic attack appear suddenly, without any apparent cause. For panic disorder to be diagnosed, the person must have at least four attacks within a month or have one or more attacks with a persistent fear of another attack. Nevertheless, many of these people experience problems in their lives and may require treatment. The best evidence to date suggests that women get panic disorder about twice as often as men, but some experts suggest that men may be underreported.