Danger elicits a "fright or flight" response. Anxiety is the psychological part of this response, often lasting long after the danger has been removed. Severe anxiety is accompanied by a host of physical symptoms. These symptoms can mimic serious medical problems and often lead patients to seek medical attention in the emergency room.
Adrenaline and Anxiety
The physiological effects of anxiety are caused primarily by the hormone adrenaline. The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys. When danger arises, adrenaline is released immediately into the bloodstream and reaches every organ in the body. Adrenaline helped our ancestors survive by making us able to react quickly to danger. It's what enables us to leap up and run or turn and fight. This response persists in modern times even though real predators are now rarer. A perceived threat such as an impending exam or a waiting audience leads to the same effect-release of adrenaline.
Acute Anxiety
Physical symptoms of acute anxiety include a rapid heart beat, palpitations, sweating, breathlessness, hyperventilation, or rapid breathing, chest pain, tingling of the extremities, lightheadedness, nausea, increased urination and loose bowels. These are all part of the hyper-alert state mediated by adrenaline.
Anxiety and Medical Problems
People who are experiencing a severe anxiety attack will often present to an emergency room, believing they're having a heart attack. Symptoms can be identical to those of a heart attack---chest pain and shortness of breath are classic symptoms of cardiac problems. The doctor will examine the patient, take a thorough history and run tests to rule out the possibility of a serious medical problem. Though the physiological effects of anxiety mimic medical conditions, a careful evaluation will differentiate between anxiety and physical causes for the symptoms.
Chronic Anxiety
Most anxious people have a combination of acute and chronic anxiety. Common physical symptoms of chronic anxiety are abdominal discomfort, muscle aches and pains, headaches and malaise. Patients who suffer from these symptoms will often go to a doctor with many vague physical complaints. The doctor must then rule out a long host of illnesses that can present with the same symptoms.
References
- "BRS Physiology (Board Review Series)"; Linda Costanzo; 2006
- "Adam's and Victors Principles of Neurology"; Victor and Ropper; 2001
