Question

A 23-year-old woman presents due to palpitations, numbness, shortness of breath, and sweating. She reports that these episodes have been occurring once or twice a week for the past several months and that she cannot discern any consistent pattern or trigger. Although the symptoms occur seemingly at random and independent of social situations, she reports that she has begun to limit her social activities for fear of having an episode while she is away from home. Physical exam and laboratory findings are within normal limits.

Question:
What is the most likely diagnosis?

a. Panic attack
b. Social phobia
c. Panic disorder
d. Generalized anxiety disorder
e. post-traumatic stress disorder

Answer 1

The 23-year-old woman with random episodes of palpitations and related symptoms, who is experiencing fear of these episodes and altering her behavior as a result, is most likely suffering from c.Panic disorder.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most likely diagnosis for a 23-year-old woman presenting with palpitations, numbness, shortness of breath, and sweating, with episodes occurring once or twice a week and no consistent pattern or trigger, is c. Panic disorder. A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. However, when someone has recurrent unexpected panic attacks and persistent concern about having more attacks or changes their behavior to avoid having panic attacks, they are experiencing panic disorder. This patient's limitation of her social activities for fear of having an episode is characteristic of the behavioral changes associated with panic disorder.

While the symptoms may overlap with other conditions like social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the absence of a tie to social situations and the seemingly random occurrence of symptoms are more indicative of panic disorder. Furthermore, her good physical health, as indicated by normal exams and lab findings, points away from physiological causes of her symptoms.