Panic Attack vs. Heart Attack: Symptoms Don’t Tell the Whole Story

If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack and the racing heartbeat and shortness of breath that can go along with it, you may have been convinced you were having a heart attack. While panic attacks and heart attacks share symptoms, there are big differences in how those symptoms appear. The trick is to know what to look for and when to seek emergency care.

What a Panic Attack Is

Panic attacks are all too familiar to people who have panic disorder, a mental health condition that falls under the umbrella of anxiety disorders.

Panic attacks may occur suddenly with or without a trigger. People experiencing a panic attack may feel like they are losing control over a particular situation or life, in general. When an attack occurs, it can cause a variety of unpleasant and even debilitating physical symptoms, including:

• Chest discomfort
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Increased heart rate
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Shaking
• Stomach pain
• Sweating

It’s also common to feel a sense of “impending doom” — the sensation that something is going to go seriously wrong.

Read More: Anxiety vs. Panic Attacks: Understanding the Difference

The Difference Between a Panic Attack and a Heart Attack

“Many heart attack symptoms, such as chest pain, mirror those of a panic attack,” says Dr. Stephen Larson, a board-certified emergency medicine physician and the medical director of the Beaufort Memorial Pratt Emergency Center. “However, a heart attack is life-threatening, while a panic attack is not. The differences between the two generally come down to how quickly the symptoms appear and how they feel.”

Symptoms of a panic attack often appear suddenly, and you feel them most intensely in roughly 10 minutes, according to the American Heart Association. With a heart attack, you might notice some mild symptoms that seem to get worse over a few minutes. They may lessen for a while and come back until you have the actual heart attack.

The way the pain feels is also different. When a person is having a panic attack, he or she may experience a racing heart and sharp, intense chest pain. A heart attack occurs when an artery to the heart is blocked, cutting off or limiting blood flow. This can cause chest pain that might radiate to your jaw, left arm or shoulder blades. Panic attack-related chest pain can have many causes, for example, a muscle spasm that you might feel only in your chest.

Someone having a heart attack is more likely to describe the pain as pressure or a sensation of something squeezing or sitting on the chest. It’s also common for someone having a heart attack to feel a heartburn-like sensation.

Read More: For Women, Classic Heart Attack Symptoms Aren’t Always ‘Classic’

Can a Panic Attack Cause a Heart Attack?

During a panic attack, with its all-encompassing fear and unpleasant physical symptoms, it’s only natural to wonder whether you can give yourself a heart attack. But that’s unlikely.

The blockages that cause heart attacks often develop after months and years of plaque buildup. Moments of intense stress, like those experienced during a panic attack, are unlikely to cause a heart attack.

It is important, though, to keep an eye on your mental health and to do what you can to rein in stress and anxiety. Unmanaged or chronic stress and anxiety can increase your risk of developing heart disease. Chronic stress is also associated with high blood pressure, which increases your risk of a heart attack.

When It’s an Emergency

Not everyone experiences heart attacks the same way. For example, there are notable differences in heart attack symptoms in men versus women.

The bottom line? If your gut tells you that something isn’t right, seek medical attention. It’s better to be checked out and diagnosed with a panic attack than to not get the care you need.

“Because a heart attack can be life threatening, it’s always better to be safe than sorry,” Dr. Larson says. “If you’re experiencing shortness of breath or chest discomfort, seek immediate medical attention. It could save your life.”

Your primary care provider can help you manage your physical and mental health. Need a PCP? Find one accepting new patients.