Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 6:52 am
Anxiety or panic attacks are one of the most common and disabling problems encountered by both mental health professions and general medical practitioners. Thousands of Americans rush to the hospital emergency rooms every day suspecting they are having a heart attack, when in reality it is a panic attack.
Here is an example of how our thinking can get us into trouble.
Joe had several deadlines to meet. Things get really hectic towards the end of a year at his work, with annual reports, performance appraisals, and projects to be rounded up, all around the same time.
One day Joe felt a mild pain in his chest and although nothing significant he did take notice for a split second, but dismissed it and then forgot all about it as he focused on the project at hand. Joe was under a lot of stress.
Driving home from work a couple of days later Joe experienced a sudden increase in heart rate along with rapid breathing. He felt a hot flash permeate his entire body, and pins and needles leading to profuse perspiration. He felt tingling and numbing in his face, hands and feet followed by sudden shaking and trembling.
Joe was all of a sudden frightened and worried about his body symptoms which in turn led to more symptoms, he could not understand how he could have hot flashes in some parts of his body and cold chills in others.
He began to overanalyze the situation. He then felt faint, dizzy, nauseous and panicky with the feeling of needing to run in an attempt to get away from the body symptoms. Joe began to think, "what is happening to me? This has never happened before, something must be wrong with me". "I am either going crazy or having a heart attack. What if I die, what if I go crazy, what if I end up in a mental institution! Can somebody help me?".
Joe became increasingly aware of his body symptoms, the overwhelming fear, bewilderment fast breathing, pounding heart, sweating, and increased trembling to name a few. (Joe was in the throws of a major panic attack brought on by stress and negative thinking patterns) Just then, Joe saw a "Hospital" sign and raced toward it in an attempt to be get some help. At the Emergency room they did an arterial blood gas test and an EKG to assess his heart function. The doctors advised Joe that his heart was in "excellent" condition and his symptoms were consistent with a panic attack and accompanied hyperventilation which is all to common with a panic attack. He was released into the care of his primary physician with no further instructions. Joe was more confused than ever and thought to himself, "If I don't have a heart problem, why did it feel like I was having a heart attack? Does this mean I am going crazy?"
This scenario is actually very common and occurs in many individuals who are experiencing a panic attack and have not had the opportunity too learn about them, and to assess the skills needed to calm themselves down when stress symptoms hit.
Joe was an NFL player. His work was his life and his stress had reached a critical point. Joe had ignored the warning signs of increased stress and continued about his days. He did not feel he could take time out to just relax and take it easy. He had deadlines and commitments, he had interviews, obligations, he had family and responsibilities. He did not have time to relax.
During a panic attack, people experience symptoms that appear much like those of a heart attack. They believe they are facing a truly life threatening event and until they are medically cleared of any danger, they fear they may be dying of a heart attack.
Even after several panic attacks, a person may still believe that "unlike the last time this time it is for real." When a panic attack is over, patients know that their heart is normal, but during an attack, they cannot think logically. In the panic mode, catastrophic thinking replaces the normal thinking and reasoning ability. The pounding heart deafens the faint voice of the logical mind at such a time. However, after ten to fifteen minutes, which is the average duration of a panic attack, a person can again believe that his or her heart is okay, but he or she wouldn't do that during a panic attack.
The American Heart Association says that the body is likely to send one or more of the following warning signals in the event of a heart attack.
Uncomfortable pressure, a feeling of fullness, a squeezing pain or tightening of the chest lasting more than a few minutes. Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck and arms. Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea and a shortness of breath.
A panic attack is diagnosed by the presence of at least four of the following symptoms. Chest pains, pressure or tightening of the chest, shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting, sweating, heart palpitations, an accelerated heart rate, nausea, numbness or tingling in one or more parts of the body, hot flushes, chills and an intense fear of dying, going crazy, embarrassing yourself or losing control. A person may have one or all of these symptoms when experiencing a panic attack.
Notice how similar the symptoms of a heart attack are to those of a panic attack! It is no wonder that we panic at these symptoms.
You may also find comfort in recent research findings that the majority of healthy people will occasionally experience some type of heart irregularity such as a skipped heart beat, pounding in the chest, a tightening of the chest and heart palpitations.
The main differences between the two are that with a heart attack a person most likely would not feel a fear of losing control, going crazy, or embarrassing themselves in front of others and when these additional conditions exist a panic attack is the most likely cause.
There is no connection between panic attacks and a heart attack except that the symptoms of both feel so much alike. Some people after the first panic attack develop intense fear about having a heart attack. They then start monitoring themselves very closely, trying to detect any signs of a heart disease. So, when their heart rate increases which is normal for everyone under excitement, stress or fatigue, they think they are having a heart attack. Then the mere thought of having a heart attack sends the heart and the rest of the body into a frenzy.
While some other people who do not suffer from panic attacks and negative thinking also experience similar cardiac changes such as heart palpitations or heart racing under stress, they do not get alarmed and do not view them as warning signs of a heart attack, stroke or some other life threatening illness.
Here is an example of how our thinking can get us into trouble.
Joe had several deadlines to meet. Things get really hectic towards the end of a year at his work, with annual reports, performance appraisals, and projects to be rounded up, all around the same time.
One day Joe felt a mild pain in his chest and although nothing significant he did take notice for a split second, but dismissed it and then forgot all about it as he focused on the project at hand. Joe was under a lot of stress.
Driving home from work a couple of days later Joe experienced a sudden increase in heart rate along with rapid breathing. He felt a hot flash permeate his entire body, and pins and needles leading to profuse perspiration. He felt tingling and numbing in his face, hands and feet followed by sudden shaking and trembling.
Joe was all of a sudden frightened and worried about his body symptoms which in turn led to more symptoms, he could not understand how he could have hot flashes in some parts of his body and cold chills in others.
He began to overanalyze the situation. He then felt faint, dizzy, nauseous and panicky with the feeling of needing to run in an attempt to get away from the body symptoms. Joe began to think, "what is happening to me? This has never happened before, something must be wrong with me". "I am either going crazy or having a heart attack. What if I die, what if I go crazy, what if I end up in a mental institution! Can somebody help me?".
Joe became increasingly aware of his body symptoms, the overwhelming fear, bewilderment fast breathing, pounding heart, sweating, and increased trembling to name a few. (Joe was in the throws of a major panic attack brought on by stress and negative thinking patterns) Just then, Joe saw a "Hospital" sign and raced toward it in an attempt to be get some help. At the Emergency room they did an arterial blood gas test and an EKG to assess his heart function. The doctors advised Joe that his heart was in "excellent" condition and his symptoms were consistent with a panic attack and accompanied hyperventilation which is all to common with a panic attack. He was released into the care of his primary physician with no further instructions. Joe was more confused than ever and thought to himself, "If I don't have a heart problem, why did it feel like I was having a heart attack? Does this mean I am going crazy?"
This scenario is actually very common and occurs in many individuals who are experiencing a panic attack and have not had the opportunity too learn about them, and to assess the skills needed to calm themselves down when stress symptoms hit.
Joe was an NFL player. His work was his life and his stress had reached a critical point. Joe had ignored the warning signs of increased stress and continued about his days. He did not feel he could take time out to just relax and take it easy. He had deadlines and commitments, he had interviews, obligations, he had family and responsibilities. He did not have time to relax.
During a panic attack, people experience symptoms that appear much like those of a heart attack. They believe they are facing a truly life threatening event and until they are medically cleared of any danger, they fear they may be dying of a heart attack.
Even after several panic attacks, a person may still believe that "unlike the last time this time it is for real." When a panic attack is over, patients know that their heart is normal, but during an attack, they cannot think logically. In the panic mode, catastrophic thinking replaces the normal thinking and reasoning ability. The pounding heart deafens the faint voice of the logical mind at such a time. However, after ten to fifteen minutes, which is the average duration of a panic attack, a person can again believe that his or her heart is okay, but he or she wouldn't do that during a panic attack.
The American Heart Association says that the body is likely to send one or more of the following warning signals in the event of a heart attack.
Uncomfortable pressure, a feeling of fullness, a squeezing pain or tightening of the chest lasting more than a few minutes. Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck and arms. Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea and a shortness of breath.
A panic attack is diagnosed by the presence of at least four of the following symptoms. Chest pains, pressure or tightening of the chest, shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting, sweating, heart palpitations, an accelerated heart rate, nausea, numbness or tingling in one or more parts of the body, hot flushes, chills and an intense fear of dying, going crazy, embarrassing yourself or losing control. A person may have one or all of these symptoms when experiencing a panic attack.
Notice how similar the symptoms of a heart attack are to those of a panic attack! It is no wonder that we panic at these symptoms.
You may also find comfort in recent research findings that the majority of healthy people will occasionally experience some type of heart irregularity such as a skipped heart beat, pounding in the chest, a tightening of the chest and heart palpitations.
The main differences between the two are that with a heart attack a person most likely would not feel a fear of losing control, going crazy, or embarrassing themselves in front of others and when these additional conditions exist a panic attack is the most likely cause.
There is no connection between panic attacks and a heart attack except that the symptoms of both feel so much alike. Some people after the first panic attack develop intense fear about having a heart attack. They then start monitoring themselves very closely, trying to detect any signs of a heart disease. So, when their heart rate increases which is normal for everyone under excitement, stress or fatigue, they think they are having a heart attack. Then the mere thought of having a heart attack sends the heart and the rest of the body into a frenzy.
While some other people who do not suffer from panic attacks and negative thinking also experience similar cardiac changes such as heart palpitations or heart racing under stress, they do not get alarmed and do not view them as warning signs of a heart attack, stroke or some other life threatening illness.
