Many patients who suffer from anxiety attacks feel that they are going to end up having a heart attack as well. The truth is that the symptoms of both conditions can be very similar and can, therefore, be easily confused. We must keep in mind that the symptoms of a heart attack can be highly variable between patients, making its detection more complex and causing even more confusion between the distinction between anxiety and heart attack.
Despite their similar symptoms, the truth is that both conditions are completely different in terms of their causes and consequences. Do you know the difference between an anxiety attack and a heart attack? To delve deeper into this matter, continue reading this Psychology-Online article in which we present some differences between anxiety and heart attack. We explain everything you need to know to differentiate a heart attack from an anxiety attack.
Anxiety, panic attack and myocardial infarction
The American Psychiatric Association’s psychology dictionary defines anxiety as a emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension. On a more cognitive level, it includes the anticipation of an imminent danger, catastrophe or misfortune, which is why the body prepares to face said threat.
Although an (understood as an acute manifestation of its symptoms) can appear in different conditions, it is one of the conditions in which anxious symptoms at a physiological level are most representative.
On the other hand, when we talk about heart attack, we usually refer to myocardial infarction. For this reason and the above, in this article we will refer specifically to panic attacks when we talk about anxiety attacks and when we talk about heart attack we will be referring specifically to myocardial infarction.
Physical symptoms of anxiety
Because the physiological symptoms of anxiety are precisely what we can confuse with the symptoms of a heart attack, it is what we focus on in this section. As we have already indicated, we will focus on the symptoms of panic disorder, whose symptoms include:
- Sweating.
- Shaking.
- Feeling of suffocation and difficulty breathing.
- Pain or discomfort in the chest.
- Palpitations or altered heart rate.
- Nausea or abdominal discomfort.
- Chills or feeling of heat.
- Sensation of numbness or tingling.
- Derealization
- Fear of losing control and fear of dying.
The symptoms that make up this condition lead patients to have the feeling that they will end up having a heart attack. However, if we look at the definition of the American Psychiatric Association set out above, anxiety is a response that, although excessive, prepares the body to face an imminent threat. After a while, the anxiety response will begin to decrease. Therefore, an anxiety attack does not cause a heart attack and neither does death. In this article we talk about.
Now, far from the physical damage that could be associated, the danger presented by high physiological activation or anxiety attacks is more associated with the psychological dimension: associating situations with said disproportionate activation. This causes problems and/or problems to develop.
How to distinguish an anxiety attack from a heart attack: 7 differences
How do you know if it is a heart attack or an anxiety attack? Below we will see what it feels like when you have an anxiety attack and how to differentiate it from a heart attack:
Difference in their causality
Although this difference will not particularly help us distinguish one from the other when we notice the symptoms, the truth is that it is the most relevant difference.
As we have pointed out, anxiety consists of a highly activated response to the perception of an imminent threat. The body prepares to face this threat.
It has nothing to do with heart attack, which occurs when blood flow decreases mainly due to a rupture of the blood vessel or its obstruction.
Difference in temporality
Preparing the body to face threats entails significant energy expenditure. After a period of time, the anxiety response tends to decrease.
On the contrary, an obstruction of the blood vessels or a rupture of these will cause injuries that do not tend to subside over time, but quite the opposite. The consequences will be worse the longer blood flow is interrupted.
Difference in their consequences
As we already mentioned, a heart attack can cause serious problems due to lack of blood flow, even leading to death.
The consequences of an anxiety attack do not usually involve physical damage, although the recurrent appearance of such attacks can cause, over time, damage to the vascular system. As we have pointed out previously, the consequences of anxiety attacks are usually more related to the psychological field.
Differences in their symptoms
Taking into account that the symptoms of both conditions are very similar, there are some differences that can help us distinguish an anxiety attack from a heart attack:
- The pain: The predominant symptom of myocardial infarction is pain, a sudden, intense pain in the center of the chest that radiates to other parts. On the contrary, if discomfort or pain appears in an anxiety attack, it is usually not so serious and is limited to the stinging sensation.
- The location of the pain: the pricks of anxiety attacks are perfectly concrete and localizable. In contrast, heart attack pain typically tends to radiate to the shoulder, left arm, left jaw area, and even the central area of the back.
- Evolution and improvement: Anxious symptoms improve when the person applies deactivation or relaxation techniques. This does not happen in cases of heart attack in which the pain tends to intensify over time and does not subside even with postural changes.
- Characteristic symptoms: Finally, there are symptoms that seem more characteristic of a heart attack, such as fatigue even when at rest; and others more characteristic of an anxiety attack, such as numbness or tingling in the extremities or derealization.
By knowing the difference between angina and anxiety you will be able to distinguish between both episodes. When in doubt, it is best to go to the emergency medical service.
Finally, in this article you will find .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Differences between anxiety and heart attackwe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association (2020). APA Dictionary of Psychology. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org
- American Psychiatric Association (2014). DSM-5. Reference guide to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5-Breviary. Madrid: Panamericana Medical Editorial.
- García-Palacios, A., Botella, C., Osma, J. and Baños, RM (2014). Panic disorder and agoraphobia. En Caballo, VE, Salazar, IC and Carrobles, JA (2014) Manual of Psychopathology and Psychological Disorders. Madrid. Pyramid.