Psychiatry Anxiety Disorders: Panic Disorder

Timing for Panic disorder:

no specific timing

Panic disorder diagnostic criteria:

Panic attacks with abrupt surge of intense fear or discomfort with minimum 4 symptoms present

What is the most heritable of the anxiety disorders

Panic Disorder

What is the genetic relevance of Panic disorder?

First degree relatives of patients with PD are 7x more likely to deveop PD and have increased risk for phobic disorders

Risk factors for PD:

Major life stress, traumatic event, major life changes, smoking or excessive caffeine intake, history of childhood abuse

PD treatment

combination of CBT and medication

What is the first line medication for PD?

SSRIs

What else has shown efficacy in PD treatment?

SNRIs, MAOI, TCA

What to know about SNRIs and PD

Can temporarily worsen anxiety

When can you use benzos for PD treatment?

Acute panic attack

PD differential considerations

PD has wide medical differential ALWAYS CONSIDER MEDICAL POSSIBILTY