Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Panic disorder

A panic attack is a period of intense fear or discomfort, typically with an abrupt onset and usually lasting no more than thirty minutes. Symptoms include trembling, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, dizziness, hyperventilation, paresthesias (tingling sensations), and sensations of choking or smothering. The disorder is strikingly different from other types of anxiety disorders in that panic attacks are very sudden, appear to be unprovoked, and are often disabling. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Arthritis
Arthritis
Bubonic plague
Hypokalemia
Pachydermoperiostosis
Pachygyria
Pacman syndrome
Paget's disease of bone
Paget's disease of the...
Palmoplantar Keratoderma
Pancreas divisum
Pancreatic cancer
Panhypopituitarism
Panic disorder
Panniculitis
Panophobia
Panthophobia
Papilledema
Paraganglioma
Paramyotonia congenita
Paraphilia
Paraplegia
Parapsoriasis
Parasitophobia
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinsonism
Paroxysmal nocturnal...
Patau syndrome
Patent ductus arteriosus
Pathophobia
Patterson...
Pediculosis
Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
Pelvic inflammatory disease
Pelvic lipomatosis
Pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pendred syndrome
Periarteritis nodosa
Perinatal infections
Periodontal disease
Peripartum cardiomyopathy
Peripheral neuropathy
Peritonitis
Periventricular leukomalacia
Pernicious anemia
Perniosis
Persistent sexual arousal...
Pertussis
Pes planus
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
Peyronie disease
Pfeiffer syndrome
Pharmacophobia
Phenylketonuria
Pheochromocytoma
Photosensitive epilepsy
Pica (disorder)
Pickardt syndrome
Pili multigemini
Pilonidal cyst
Pinta
PIRA
Pityriasis lichenoides...
Pityriasis lichenoides et...
Pityriasis rubra pilaris
Placental abruption
Pleural effusion
Pleurisy
Pleuritis
Plummer-Vinson syndrome
Pneumoconiosis
Pneumocystis jiroveci...
Pneumocystosis
Pneumonia, eosinophilic
Pneumothorax
POEMS syndrome
Poland syndrome
Poliomyelitis
Polyarteritis nodosa
Polyarthritis
Polychondritis
Polycystic kidney disease
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Polycythemia vera
Polydactyly
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Polymyositis
Polyostotic fibrous...
Pompe's disease
Popliteal pterygium syndrome
Porencephaly
Porphyria
Porphyria cutanea tarda
Portal hypertension
Portal vein thrombosis
Post Polio syndrome
Post-traumatic stress...
Postural hypotension
Potophobia
Poxviridae disease
Prader-Willi syndrome
Precocious puberty
Preeclampsia
Premature aging
Premenstrual dysphoric...
Presbycusis
Primary biliary cirrhosis
Primary ciliary dyskinesia
Primary hyperparathyroidism
Primary lateral sclerosis
Primary progressive aphasia
Primary pulmonary...
Primary sclerosing...
Prinzmetal's variant angina
Proconvertin deficiency,...
Proctitis
Progeria
Progressive external...
Progressive multifocal...
Progressive supranuclear...
Prostatitis
Protein S deficiency
Protein-energy malnutrition
Proteus syndrome
Prune belly syndrome
Pseudocholinesterase...
Pseudogout
Pseudohermaphroditism
Pseudohypoparathyroidism
Pseudomyxoma peritonei
Pseudotumor cerebri
Pseudovaginal...
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum
Psittacosis
Psoriasis
Psychogenic polydipsia
Psychophysiologic Disorders
Pterygium
Ptosis
Pubic lice
Puerperal fever
Pulmonary alveolar...
Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary sequestration
Pulmonary valve stenosis
Pulmonic stenosis
Pure red cell aplasia
Purpura
Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch
Purpura, thrombotic...
Pyelonephritis
Pyoderma gangrenosum
Pyomyositis
Pyrexiophobia
Pyrophobia
Pyropoikilocytosis
Pyrosis
Pyruvate kinase deficiency
Uveitis
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Most who have one attack will have others. People who have repeated attacks, or feel severe anxiety about having another attack, are said to have panic disorder.

Introduction

Most sufferers of panic attacks report a fear of dying, "going crazy", or losing control of emotions or behavior. The experiences generally provoke a strong urge to escape or flee the place where the attack begins ("fight or flight" reaction) and, when associated with chest pain or shortness of breath, a feeling of impending doom and/or tunnel vision, frequently resulting in seeking aid from a hospital emergency room or other type of urgent assistance.

The panic attack is distinguished from other forms of anxiety by its intensity and its sudden, episodic nature. Panic attacks are often experienced by sufferers of anxiety disorders, agoraphobia, and other psychological conditions involving anxiety, though panic attacks are not always indicative of a mental disorder. Up to 10 percent of otherwise healthy people experience an isolated panic attack per year, and 1 in 60 people in the U.S. will suffer from panic disorder at some point in their lifetime.

People with phobias will often experience panic attacks as a direct result of exposure to their trigger. These panic attacks are usually short-lived and rapidly relieved once the trigger is escaped. In conditions of chronic anxiety one panic attack can often roll into another, leading to nervous exhaustion over a period of days.

Symptoms

The symptoms of a panic attack appear suddenly, without any apparent cause. They may include:

  • Racing or pounding heartbeat or palpitations
  • Sweating
  • Chest pains
  • Dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea
  • Difficulty breathing (dyspnea)
  • Tingling or numbness in the hands, face, feet or mouth
  • Flushes to the face and chest or chills
  • Dream-like sensations or perceptual distortions (derealization)
  • Dissociation, the perception that one is not connected to the body or even disconnected from space and time (depersonalization)
  • Terror, a sense that something unimaginably horrible is about to occur and one is powerless to prevent it
  • Fear of losing control and doing something embarrassing or of going crazy
  • Fear of dying
  • Feeling of impending doom
  • Trembling or "shivering"
  • Crying

A panic attack typically lasts from 2 to 8 minutes and is one of the most distressing conditions that a person can experience in everyday life.

The various symptoms of a panic attack can be understood as follows. First comes the sudden onset of fear with little or no provoking stimulus. This then leads to a release of adrenaline (epinephrine) which cause the so-called fight-or-flight response where the person's body prepares for major physical activity. This leads to an increased heart rate (tachycardia), rapid breathing (hyperventilation), and sweating (which increases grip and aids heat loss). Because strenuous activity rarely ensues, the hyperventilation leads to carbon dioxide levels lowering in the lungs and then the blood. This leads to shifts in blood pH which can in turn lead to many other symptoms, such as tingling or numbness, dizziness, and lightheadedness. (It is also possible for the person experiencing such an attack to feel as though they are unable to catch their breath, and they begin to take deeper breaths. This also acts to decrease carbon dioxide levels in the blood.)

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Embracing the Fear : Learning To Manage Anxiety & Panic Attacks $6.48 Calming Your Anxious Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Anxiety, Fear, and Panic $8.23
The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook $6.45 Beyond Anxiety and Phobia: A Step-by-Step Guide to Lifetime Recovery $14.39
Anxiety and Its Disorders, Second Edition : The Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic $37.00 An End to Panic: Breakthrough Techniques for Overcoming Panic Disorder $4.96
Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick $12.02 The Linden Method: The Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks & Phobias Elimination Solution $190.56
Pass Through Panic $10.95 Natural Relief for Anxiety: Complementary Strategies for Easing Fear, Panic & Worry $8.36

Treatment of panic disorder
Panic disorder with or without agoraphobia occurs commonly in patients in primary care set-tings. This article assesses multiple evidence-based reviews ...
Panic disorder
A panic attack is a sudden, intense experience of fear coupled with an overwhelming feeling of danger, accompanied by physical symptoms of anxiety, such ...
Panic disorder
A panic attack is a sudden, intense experience of fear coupled with an overwhelming feeling of danger, accompanied by physical symptoms of anxiety, such ...
What to do when SSRIs fail: eight strategies for optimizing treatment of panic disorder - Practical Therapeutics - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the drug of choice for treatment of patients with panic disorder. Most patients have a favorable response to SSRI therapy; however, 30 percent wil
Can herbal medicine help people with anxiety, panic & PTSD? - Ask the Herbalist - post-traumatic stress disorder
Everyone experiences fear and anxiety. Fear is a response to an external threat, whereas anxiety can erupt from external events and a person's own thoughts.
Panic disorder in otolaryngologic practice: A brief review - Special Contribution
Panic disorder in otolaryngologic practice: A brief review. (Special Contribution).
Inositol for panic disorder
Twenty-five patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 6 g of inositol twice ...
An End to Panic: Breakthrough Techniques for Overcoming Panic Disorder . - 2nd ed - Review - book review
ZUERCHER-WHITE, Elke. An End to Panic: Breakthrough Techniques for Overcoming Panic Disorder (2nd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger, 1998. 218pp. $17.95 ...

Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay