Panic disorder?? Need to rule out organic factors!…Factors contributing to accurate diagnosis!

Many people unfortunately experience “panic attacks,” rapid heart beat, shallow respiration,tremulousness, chest pain, but is this really a panic disorder? Paroxysmal disorders can MIMIC panic attacks. They are auras, states which precede a seizure. The interval of an aura is significantly shorter than that of a panic attack, eg, 30-45 sec.However, if the person experiencing this is unaware of this they may seek a Psychiatrist and anti-anxiety medications. Certainly, there are these conditions which this author has seen misdiagnosed as anxiety conditions when they are in reality neurological conditions, e.g. partial simple seizures. People can be walking around in a state of consciousness and have a partial seizure. Dissociative seizures may mimic organic seizures and channel opathies are often misdiagnosed as psychogenic.The guiding principle for patients is to obtain a medical evaluation prior to concluding that one has a purely psychological condition. One can end up on anti-anxiety medications for years due to faulty diagnosis. Thus, one needs always rule out organic factors prior to concluding that one has a “psychological” condition. This approach can save someone a lot of grief and wasted time.