You are assessing a patient for panic attacks. Before revealing the answer, decide what you would ask about.

Ask about the speed of onset and peak — panic attacks characteristically begin suddenly and peak within minutes, rather than building gradually over a longer period. Ask specifically about the physical symptoms experienced, such as palpitations, chest pain or tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, sweating, and nausea, since these are often what brings the patient to medical rather than psychiatric attention in the first place. Ask about accompanying fears of dying, losing control, or 'going mad', and establish the duration of a typical episode, since panic attacks are time-limited, usually resolving within twenty to thirty minutes, in contrast to a more sustained anxiety state. Finally, ask whether attacks occur out of the blue or specifically in response to an identifiable trigger, since this bears directly on whether a phobic component is also present.