Your heart is racing, you have shortness of breath, your extremities tingle, you can’t think straight, is it a panic attack?
Anxiety, specifically panic attacks, can mimic more serious illnesses like congestive heart failure.
Anyone who has suffered from panic attacks knows that it can feel like you are having a heart attack, stroke, or dying. While a real panic attack can be scary, it’s not deadly. But, thinking you’re having a panic attack when it’s actually a life-threatening episode can be deadly.
What aggravates this situation and makes it even more dangerous is when those around you, knowing that you are suffering from panic attacks, do not take your symptoms seriously. Your first reaction is to assume it’s just another rash of anxiety. This is where you need to use common sense and take precautionary measures.
The story of a woman who thought she had continuous panic attacks for almost a month is a good example. The woman had a history of panic attacks, but at this point in her life she had already had an episode with a leaky heart valve. Her symptoms were shortness of breath and dizziness when getting out of bed in the morning; she couldn’t breathe when she went up the stairs; she had a funny, heavy feeling in her legs; her neck and shoulders ached; and her heart was racing.
Why weren’t warning signals ringing in her head telling her to go to the hospital? Ah, the question of life and death. Nobody wants to think that she is really sick. She especially doesn’t want to believe that it’s a life and death situation. And no one wants to go to the hospital.
Fortunately, this woman’s symptoms continued to worsen and she eventually went to see her regular doctor. That was lucky because if her symptoms didn’t get worse, she might not have sought medical attention and it would have been too late. It turned out that this woman had congestive heart failure.
This is a scenario as common as it is dangerous: once anxiety and panic attacks are diagnosed, the individual and those around them fail to give serious warning signs with the attention they deserve. This type of reaction delays or even prevents the individual from seeking immediate medical attention. So be careful! Do not immediately treat common heart attack and stroke symptoms such as panic attacks. Better safe than sorry.
Another common scenario is when doctors attribute anxiety-like symptoms, especially in women, to anxiety without ruling out other, more serious possible causes of the symptoms.
What can you do to make your symptoms be taken seriously?
1. Don’t assume that doctors are always correct in their diagnoses.
2. If they tell you, “don’t worry, it’s just anxiety,” but you have a feeling something else is going on, seek another opinion.
3. If you’re still not satisfied, get a third, fourth, and even fifth opinion.
4. It’s a good idea to write down your symptoms so that when you go to the doctor you don’t have to rely on your memory.
5. Try to be calm (not nervous) when describing your symptoms to the doctors; having your symptoms in writing will also help in this area.
Remember: It is important to listen to your body.