How do I know if I had a panic attack?
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS
A panic attack is a sudden wave, peaking within about ten minutes, of pounding heart, breathlessness, chest tightness, trembling, sweating, dizziness or unreality, with a powerful sense of doom or losing control. Many people land in emergency rooms convinced it is their heart.
First-time chest symptoms deserve a proper check once. After that, knowing the pattern is protective: naming it during an attack, slowing the exhale, and letting the wave pass without fleeing all shrink future attacks.
Attacks that recur or breed fear of the next one respond extremely well to CBT; nobody needs to live braced.
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Health education, not personal medical advice. In an emergency, contact your local emergency service now.