Experiencing intense chest pain, a racing heart, or shortness of breath? You may be asking yourself how to tell the difference between a panic attack and a heart attack.
With symptoms that are somewhat indistinguishable to the layman, it may seem challenging to determine whether the pain is a result of the heart or the head, but some key differences can shed some light on your condition. Both panic attacks and heart attacks are incredibly common. Approximately 35 percent of Americans will face a panic attack at some point in their lives and someone in the U.S. suffers a heart attack every 40 seconds, totaling almost 805,000 heart attacks each year. Without correct treatment, both conditions can lead to serious health complications.
What Do Heart Attacks & Panic Attacks Have in Common?
Both heart attacks and panic attacks can cause chest pain. Individuals often characterize the discomfort as feeling like an elephant is pressing down on their chest, experiencing a squeezing sensation, or sharp, shooting pains. In both cases, chest pain may also be accompanied by symptoms of shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, or gastrointestinal symptoms.
How Can You Determine if You’re Having a Heart Attack or a Panic Attack?
These two conditions are a result of very different internal processes in the body. A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is blocked or reduced, often due to a buildup of fat, cholesterol, or other materials in the arteries that leads to blockage. Conversely, a panic attack originates in the head. Often triggered by a chemical imbalance in the body, a panic attack shifts psychological responses of fear, dread, or impending doom to physiological responses.
Some key questions to ask yourself if you’re experiencing chest pain include:
Is Your Pain Moving?
One major distinction between these two conditions is the type of pain you feel. Panic attack pain often sits on your chest and doesn’t move to other regions of the body. Alternatively, in heart attacks, patients report pain radiating from the chest to other areas of the body like the left side or back.
Is Your Pain Getting Better?
Another difference is duration. Panic attacks will often resolve once you’ve had a chance to relax and calm down (often within 20-30 minutes). In contrast, a heart attack will likely intensify over time, especially without treatment. If you find yourself in a stressful situation, it may be beneficial to remove yourself from the stressor. If you begin to feel better, it may be a sign that you’ve had a panic attack.
Have You Engaged in Physical Exertion?
Heart attacks can often be triggered by exercise, especially with a workload that may not be a part of your normal routine, such as shoveling snow, carrying something heavy, or running. Panic attacks aren’t necessarily triggered by any sort of exercise or physical exertion.
When to Call 9-1-1
Chest pain is serious. If you’re experiencing chest pain and are unsure of its cause, it’s important to seek urgent medical attention. Call 9-1-1 as soon as possible to avoid danger and even death. It’s never a good idea to minimize chest pain symptoms.
How Can I Calm Myself Down from a Panic Attack?
The first thing you’ll want to do when addressing a panic attack is to remove your triggers. Panic attacks are often caused by some stressor in our environment. Start to relax by removing the trigger from your environment. In some cases, this may mean removing yourself from the environment and finding a quiet place where you can relax. Next, try deep breathing exercises and mindfulness to try to start to relax. You can also try cognitive reframing, a technique that involves understanding how you view a situation and then altering your perception of the situation through a new lens.
This could involve using phrases to challenge your thoughts, like:
- “I am strong and resilient.”
- “I am enough just as I am.”
- “I am going to be okay.”
- “This is going to pass.”
If you experience panic attacks, it’s a good idea to seek the help of your primary care provider to address your symptoms. Without intervention, isolated panic attacks can worsen into panic disorder.
