Panic Attacks Versus Hyperventilation: Which is It?

Abstract

Hyperventilation syndrome is far more common than generally recognized, often masquerading as panic attacks. It produces various complaints that
include alterations of consciousness, inexplicable sensory sensations, and it is often masked by coexisting somatic symptoms including weakness.
Obscuring recognition further, symptoms attributed to the commonly encountered panic disorder are often, in reality, those of hyperventilation.
Proper diagnosis of this breathing disorder depends upon a heightened awareness of its various manifestations, which can then lead to effective means of diagnosis and management.