We have just recovered from a sudden state of malaise and we are incredulous that we are still alive, because we really thought we were going to die. We were assailed by fear for no specific reason and we immediately thought we were in the middle of a heart attack that was very dangerous for us. Despite being lucid we went into confusion and terror of something serious but, after a few minutes, everything was resolved and we are tired and we are breathing slowly, like when we recover from a fright. But what could have happened to us? Tiredness, chest pains, confusion, symptoms like the ones we have experienced may not be attributable to a heart attack but to another type of ailment.
Panic attacks
They are panic attacks, those sudden episodes that would make you think you are suffering from a heart attack. This is because some symptoms would be common in both conditions, such as chest pains or nausea. It is not easy to understand the difference, but knowing some particularities could help better understanding the event.
Tiredness, chest pains, confusion may not be symptoms of a heart attack but of a less serious condition and how to tell the difference
During a panic attack, the pain we may experience in the chest may be particularly severe and localized in the middle of the chest. In the case of a heart attack, however, the pain could be more like a pressure, it could start in the center of the chest and then radiate to the arm, shoulder blade or jaw. A panic attack could then resolve in a few minutes, while a heart attack could have a mild onset that gets worse quickly.
What to do
As the Veronesi Foundation, the unmotivated fear would lead to mistaking the panic attack for a myocardial infarction. The panic attack, however, could give rise to psychological problems but not be life-threatening. Certainly the frequency of attacks could compromise the quality of life of those who suffer from it. In the case of sporadic episodes, psychotherapeutic help could be suitable, useful for learning to recognize the disorder and deal with it. In case of more frequent episodes, the advice of a specialist would be necessary for the evaluation of a drug therapy.
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