An individual experiencing a panic attack feels an undeniable wave of fear for no particular reason at all. The individual heart begins to beat rapidly, his chest hurt and it become increasingly more difficult to breathe; at which time the individual believes he is having a heart attack and will die if he does not receive proper intervention.
One patient defined his symptoms in this way: I am so afraid; every time I start to go out I get that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I am terrified that another panic attack is coming or that some other unknown terrible thing is going to happen to me or someone in my family.”