Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:824-826
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Are panic attacks traumatic stressors?
RJ McNally and BM Lukach
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Like typical stressors that produce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
panic attacks are sudden, unpredictable, and often perceived as
life-threatening. Structured interviews with 30 subjects with panic
disorder revealed that five (17%) and two (7%) met lifetime and current
DSM-III-R PTSD criteria, respectively, following their most terrifying
panic attack. PTSD produced by panic is less severe than PTSD produced by
either rape or combat.
