The short explanation
Both are worth taking seriously and only an assessment can separate them. Panic attacks produce genuinely physical symptoms — racing heart, breathlessness, chest tightness, tingling, a sense of doom — and they are not imagined. But thyroid problems, anaemia, arrhythmias and some medications produce the same picture, which is why a first appointment usually includes a few tests as well as a conversation.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Women's cardiac symptoms are more often atypical and are more often attributed to anxiety before anything is checked. If you have been told it is anxiety and you are not convinced, saying so directly is reasonable and useful.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you which it is. It cannot examine you, run an ECG, or check your thyroid, and no symptom list distinguishes them reliably.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- What are we ruling out, and with which tests?
- Could my thyroid or my iron levels be involved?
- If it is panic, what treatment works and how soon?
- What should bring me back sooner?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
- Call emergency services for chest pain or pressure that spreads to the arm, jaw or back, breathlessness at rest, fainting, or an irregular heartbeat with feeling unwell. It is better to be checked and sent home.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
No sources recorded yet.
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off. That is what the “Editorially reviewed” badge means, and why it does not say “Clinically reviewed”. It was written and checked by AskHer’s editorial team, and it is queued for a clinician who works in this area. No sources are recorded against it yet.
- Review status
- Editorially reviewed
- Last reviewed
- Last reviewed 25 September 2026
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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