Panic Attacks Glossary of Terms

1. Phobias Slideshow Pictures
2. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the Panic Attacks Quiz!

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Aerobic: Oxygen-requiring. Aerobic bacteria need oxygen to grow. Aerobic exercise requires...

Aerobic exercise: Brisk exercise that promotes the circulation of oxygen through the blood...

Agoraphobia: An abnormal and persistent fear of public places or open areas, especially th...

Alprazolam: A benzodiazepine sedative that causes dose-related depression of the central n...

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Anxiety disorder: A chronic condition characterized by an excessive and persistent sense o...

Apnea: The absence of breathing (respiration).

Aspartame: A man-made sweetener with almost no calories used in place of sugar.

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Asthma: A common lung disorder in which inflammation causes the bronchi to swell and narro...

Benzodiazepines: A class of drugs that act as tranquilizers and are commonly used in the t...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Chills: feelings of coldness accompanied by shivering. Chills may develop after exposure t...

Clinical depression: Depressed mood that meets the DSM-IV criteria for a depressive disord...

Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical...

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Cymbalta: Brand name for duloxetine hydrochloride, a drug approved by the FDA to treat maj...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Duloxetine: See: Cymbalta.

ECG: Electrocardiogram.

EEG: Electroencephalogram.

Electroencephalogram: A technique for studying the electrical currents within the brain. E...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Endocrine: Pertaining to hormones and the glands that make and secrete them into the blood...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

Generalized anxiety disorder: Abbreviated GAD. A condition characterized by 6 months or mo...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Heart rate: The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute. The heart rate ...

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

Hot flashes: A sudden wave of mild or intense body heat caused by rushes of hormonal chang...

Hyperventilation: Overbreathing. Hyperventilation causes dizziness, lightheadedness, a sen...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Leg: In popular usage, the part of the body from the top of the thigh down to the foot, an...

Lips: Aside from the lips of the mouth, there are two pairs of lips at the entrance to the...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Magnesium: A mineral involved in many processes in the body including nerve signaling, the...

Magnesium deficiency: Can occur due to inadequate intake or impaired intestinal absorption...

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Mitral valve: A valve in the heart that is situated between the left atrium and the left v...

Mitral valve prolapse: A common heart valve anomaly affecting 5'10 percent of people that ...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neurologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of th...

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Palpitations: Unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. In ...

Panic: A sudden strong feeling of fear that prevents reasonable thought or action. The wor...

Panic disorder: An anxiety disorder that is characterized by sudden attacks of fear and pa...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Placebo: A "sugar pill" or any dummy medication or treatment.

Placebo effect: Also called the placebo response. A remarkable phenomenon in which a place...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Psychiatric: Pertaining to or within the purview of psychiatry, the medical specialty conc...

Psychotherapy: The treatment of a behavior disorders, mental illness, or any other conditi...

PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Random: Determined solely by chance.

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Reuptake: The reabsorption of a secreted substance by the cell that originally produced an...

Seizure: Uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain, which may produce a physical conv...

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Sero...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Sleep apnea: The temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, often resulting in daytime ...

Sleep disorders: Any disorder that affects, disrupts, or involves sleep. The most common...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Substance abuse: The excessive use of a substance, especially alcohol or a drug. (There is...

Suicidal: Pertaining to suicide. the taking of ones own life. As in a suicidal gesture, su...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Sweating: The act of secreting fluid from the skin by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. The...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Tension: 1) The pressure within a vessel, such as blood pressure: the pressure within t...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Trigger: Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predispose...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vital: Necessary to maintain life. For example, breathing is a vital function.

Withdrawal symptoms: Abnormal physical or psychological features that follow the abrupt di...

Xanax: See: Alprazolam.

Zinc: A mineral that is essential to the body and is a constituent of many enzymes that pe...