Episode in which a very intense and sudden fear appears for no apparent reason.
The condition is twice as frequent in women, and it usually manifests before the age of 25, although there are cases described at all ages.
Panic attacks are present in a wide variety of disorders, being very frequent in anxiety disorders.
Although the cause is unknown, a genetic origin is suspected.
This intense fear tends to go alongside other symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, arterial hypertension, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, nausea, dizziness, excessive sweating, fear of losing control or going crazy, etc. This experience ends up limiting a person's everyday behaviour, leading up to a progressive isolation and experiencing a constant anguish or worry that the symptoms will appear again.
The diagnosis is clinical through a directed questioning, which is usually performed by a psychiatrist.
The treatment includes strategies to deal with the events that trigger the attack and not to avoid them, as well as medication and cognitive-behavioural therapy. Acute episodes are treated with benzodiazepines and, if they are repeated frequently, a treatment with antidepressants is required.
- Peter P Roy-Byrne, MD. Panic disorder in adults: Epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, course, assessment, and diagnosis. UpToDate.
- Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, et al. Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med 2007; 146:317.
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), American Psychiatric Association, Arlington, VA 2013.
- Goldstein RB, Weissman MM, Adams PB, et al. Psychiatric disorders in relatives of probands with panic disorder and/or major depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1994; 51:383.
- Goodwin RD, Faravelli C, Rosi S, et al. The epidemiology of panic disorder and agoraphobia in Europe. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2005; 15:435.
