Panic Attacks Don't Come Out of the Blue After All
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Panic attacks do not come "out of the blue" but are preceded by physiological changes similar to those that precede seizures, stroke, and even manic episodes, a new study suggests. There is reason to believe that waves of physiological instability occur for a substantial period of time before the attack is reported by patients
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@milind The finding may have relevance for other medical disorders where symptoms seemingly happen "out of the blue," such as seizures, strokes, and even manic episodes. The researchers say they detected significant patterns of instability across a number of autonomic and respiratory variables as early as 47 minutes before panic onset. The final minutes preceding the attack were dominated by respiratory changes, with significant decreases in tidal volume followed by abrupt carbon dioxide partial pressure increases