Symptoms

Panic attack symptoms can make your heart pound and cause you to feel short of breath, dizzy, nauseated and flushed. Because panic attack symptoms can resemble life-threatening conditions, it's important to seek an accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Panic attack symptoms can include:

* Rapid heart rate
* Sweating
* Trembling
* Shortness of breath
* Hyperventilation
* Chills
* Hot flashes
* Nausea
* Abdominal cramping
* Chest pain
* Headache
* Dizziness
* Faintness
* Tightness in your throat
* Trouble swallowing
* A sense of impending death

You may have a few or many of these panic attack symptoms. Panic attacks typically begin suddenly, without warning. Panic attack symptoms usually peak within 10 minutes and last about half an hour. But panic attacks have many variations. They may last hours or, on rare occasions, up to a day. You may feel fatigued and worn out after a panic attack subsides. One of the worst things about panic attacks is the intense fear that you'll have another panic attack.

If you have frequent panic attacks, you may have a condition called panic disorder. Panic attacks can greatly interfere with your life — and perhaps even endanger you or others.

Panic attacks can strike at almost any time without warning — when you're driving the school car pool, at the mall, sound asleep or in the middle of a business meeting. And you may fear having a panic attack so much that you avoid situations where they may occur. You may even be unable to leave your home (agoraphobia), because no place feels safe.