Hi there. I just felt I wanted to get this out there because I was a victim of a misdiagnosis. For those of you who have sudden onset of a fast heart rate please consult a physician. Although this is a common sign of Panic Attacks it can also be a sign of an underlining arrhythmia problem. I was misdiagnosed with Panic/Anxiety Disorder about 5 years ago. For two years I lived thinking that I had Panic Anxiety Disorder. But by God's grace I was with my aunt who is a nurse when an attack occured, she looked over all of my symptoms and told me that she thought I had Psroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia/PSVT (sudden onset of a fast heartrate). After this I went to the doctor and when I had my next attack they caught it on an EKG. I did in fact have PSVT. It has been corrected since then. The ironic thing about all of this is that a common side effect of PSVT is Panic/Anxiety Disorder, which I now suffer from (it is common for PSVT sufferers to suffer from Panic Anxiety Disorder because of the stress and anxiety-which occurs with PSVT). It is common for PSVT/Arrhythmia sufferers to be misdiagnosed with Panic/Anxiety Disorder. I just wanted to make that known so that no one else has to go through what I went through to find out what was really wrong with me. Passage taken from "The Anxiety Cure" by Dr. Archibald Hart {Psroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia: This one is a mouthful, but is known simply as PSVT, a special from of rapic heartbeat that is OFTEN indistinguishable from the rapid hearbeat of panic. Here again we have a disorder whose symptoms overlap considerably with panic anxiety disorder. Unrecognized PSVT symptoms are OFTEN misdiagnosed as panic anxiety disorder. In fact, they are often ascribed to various psychiatric conditions. In one study, prior to eventual diagnosis of PSVT, physicians (nonpsychiatrists) ascribed the symptoms of 54% of these patients to panic, anxiety, or stress. There is no simple way to rule out PSVT; it can occur in people with perfectly normal hearts. PSVT is characterized by a rapid heartbeat, or tachycardia (150-250 beats per minute), that starts abruptly and causes palitations in the chest. It can also stop abruptly. If you experience any of these signs during a panic attack, tell your doctor. There is trea