One of the characteristics of an anxiety attack is a conviction in the person experiencing the anxiety that they are facing some sort of imminent health emergency. A person having an anxiety or panic attack will often rush themselves to a medical care facility, an emergency room in many cases, in the belief that they are on the verge of death or severe incapacitation. People who suffer anxiety attacks will also often become defensive at any suggestion that the symptoms they're experiencing aren't serious.

It's not entirely unreasonable that someone having an anxiety attack would believe they're in the midst of a serious health crisis. There is some overlap between the symptoms of an anxiety attack and the symptoms of some serious health conditions. Symptoms of an anxiety attack can be similar to heart attack symptoms, for instance. Some of the symptoms of a heart attack are chest tightness and tingling in the extremities. During an anxiety attack, a person's chest can feel tight, and their extremities can feel numb and tingly.

A person suffering a stroke can feel a sense of disorientation and can have balance difficulty. It's not uncommon for a person to feel disoriented or wobbly during an anxiety attack. Of course, obviously, an anxiety attack is not a stroke, and an anxiety attack is not a heart attack. There is mix up between anxiety attacks and heart attacks and anxiety attacks and stroke however. You could find at virtually any time someone in an emergency room someplace who believes they're facing a serious health crisis, but who's actually having an anxiety attack.

One method for determining whether symptoms are actually an anxiety attack is to consider what was happening before symptoms began. If agitation or upset preceded the onset of symptoms, an anxiety attack might be the cause. A person can additionally consider their own physical background. The notion that someone in their twenties or thirties is having a heart attack or a stroke is dubious, unless that person is either extremely overweight or has recently used a narcotic. On the other hand, someone who's in their fifties or older who isn't in good physical condition should consider chest pains or disorientation to be a potentially serious matter.

It's sensible to have unusual symptoms medically checked over. What is not healthy however is to be physically cleared yet continue to seek medical care because of perceived symptoms. The person who thinks himself or herself ill in the face of direct evidence to the contrary is displaying classic symptoms of anxiety or some other emotional disorder.