Am I having a panic attack or a heart attack?

The signs for a heart attack can be similar to a panic attack. The best way to know for certain is seeing a doctor who can access you and check your heart (especially if you have risk factors). Chest pain can seem like angina but there are many complicated and physiological things the body does in panic. Usually, if you are having a heart attack, you will have clear symptoms, and be genuinely concerned for your health, panic attacks trick you into thinking you are dying. Of course there is no way to know for sure, but if you suspect something serious it is ALWAYS OK to call 911, better to be safe than sorry. A medic would be able to tell at the scene if you are having a heart attack by doing a quick EKG.

It's best to educate yourself on both panic attacks and heart attacks. Learning the similarities and differences between them, especially between biological genders since heart attacks affect each one differently can help you a lot to know when one is a serious medical emergency and when one is needing of some grounding. Panic attack pains do happen quite often in the chest region and make it difficult to breathe causing an increased heart rate and a pain that that gets better over time. A heart attack is a squeezing pain and pressure in the chest and the pain gets worse over time. I hope this helps.