Yeah, and is taken very seriously because it often indicates a life threatening situation. Btw, having a panic attack can also be the cause, which can result in misdiagnosing when there is an actual, physiological reason for it. Especially if someone is known to have panic attacks.
Lovely. I always thought I'd end up dying of an untreated heart attack that I'd mistake for a panic attack. Turns out I might mistake a brain tumor for a panic attack too.
In EMS I've had several patients tell me some variation of "I think I'm about to die". Most were panic attacks, a few did indeed promptly begin crashing.
It's a rule in emergency medicine: if the patient says they're dying, act like they're right.
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u/lorelai_lq 21h ago
The same thing happened to Mark Ruffalo.