Thanks for your posts ... in answer to your question, Trish, I had Panic Disorder for a time many years ago but with Xanax and Therapy overcame it ... I had done well for years but the recently (well November '03) I lost three friends rather suddenly and after the last funeral started to have anxiety and then a full fledged panic attacks ... they actually thought I was having a heart attack (the paramedics) but after an extensive exam and some Ativan they concluded that it was Panic. I struggled with it for a few months (about 6) but with therapy and situational drugs (I took Ativan when needed) I seemed to get through it and was anxiety free. Well now it seems I am experiancing quite a bit of anxiety again. I have only had one "panic" attack and that was mild but I guess I am asking the question because I am just so tired of it ... I wonder how long my body can maintain this level of anxiety without just breaking down. I do not have high blood pressure as a rule ... in fact usually it is low ... except when I am anxious and then I get a racing heart sometimes pounding, shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness and feelings of unreality etc ... It just seems more than a body can handle some days and I worry (now there's a shocker) anyway thanks for answering !!! Nina

Nina, What happened recently? Sounds as if your frightened to death. Nina when mine first began at 28, I had High Blood pressure with it, along with the full blown panic, both came out of nowhere. As I didnt have a family history of heart problems, I was looking at my age, and weight, slender side. One month prior I had given birth to my son, the whole pregnancy was fine, no hypertension at all, and you know those last few weeks, they have you in the office checking you twice a week. Have his birth before been discharged BP was fine also. I was freaked after my panic attack, and the next day the visit to the doctor saying you have high blood pressure made my panic worse, I felt sure I was doomed, I started having attacks no less than 4 times daily, and put on high Blood pressure medicine. This all before I even got a diagnosis of panic. I finally got my diagnosis of panic in about 2 weeks, I was on BP meds for 3yrs, then my doctor weaned me off slowly. During those years, I had holter monitor test, paid out of pocket to a cardiologist, etc. because my palpatations and rapid heart beats, and yes shortness of breath were scaring me, fearing the worst. My Bp has remained normal for over 10 yrs since, Im 41 now, hitting 42 soon. I did get a bout of elevated BP again, a few months ago at the doctors, I was again all sensitized to it. I wouldnt leave the house for fear, that if I had an attack, my BP would soar to dangerously high levels, I was letting it consume me. It would be near normal at home while relaxed, but ask me to make a trip somewhere and it would spike to numbers of 160/100. My doctor has me on a beta blocker, which is a blood pressure medicine, but it acts to slow down the heartrate also, my heart rate averages 60-70 beats per minute now. If Im anxious it may go up some, but not near the beats I was experiencing before. It also helps on the adrenaline surges I get just as I experience an oncoming attack, or nervousness. Which holds the shortness of breath at bay. Because its the muscles tightening for the fear or flight syndrome we experience and the rapid heartbeat that causes the shortness of breath, or feeling of suffocation. I have been walking more recently to get exercise and regulate my br

Everything I have read says no. Consult your physician to be sure. Mike

Okay ... I know that you cannot go crazy from Panic Disorder but can all the racing heartrate, the difficulty breathing, the high blood pressure kill you?