 The signs and symptoms of panic are so scary and impactful that they often get confused with other truly dangerous events. A panic attack is often confused with a heart attack or a stroke. A person having a panic attack may assume that they are dying, losing touch with reality, or about to completely lose control or go insane. If you are experiencing what you think might be panic attacks, and are worried that they do mean that you are in actual medical or psychological danger, you're not alone in that at all. A very large number of people that experience panic attacks will misinterpret them as real danger. It's more common than you might think.