The medical and research communities have done extensive research on panic attacks and continue to study them today.  Although these attacks are quite common, the exact panic attacks cause or causes are still up for debate.

And while the definite causes are still being delved into,[removed][removed]the medical and research communities explore many theories that include chemical imbalances in the nervous system, brain abnormalities, trauma, our natural alarm systems, psychotic disorders, personality traits, major life stressors and accumulations of small life stressors.

Another theory involves genetics/heredity.  Many experts believe that genetics very well could be a cause for these attacks in some people.

Panic disorders, emotional disorders and anxiety disorders, or their predispositions, have proven to be genetically passed down in some families in much the same way as hair color, skin color and eye color can be passed down.

So, if your father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather or grandmother has or had attacks, you’re more likely to have them than most other people.

But, even if none of your family members have had these attacks, it doesn’t mean that you’ll never have one.  Over 50 to 75 percent of people who do have panic disorders do not have a family member who has it.

In short, these are just statistics.  The medical and research communities haven’t identified a special gene or group of genes that increase the odds of someone having this disorder.

So, should you bother checking into your family history and talking with family members about panic disorders?  It’s definitely a good idea.  You may have family members who have had these attacks that you don’t even know about.

It certainly could be valuable to your doctor to know about any family history of these attacks.  The more information you can give your doctor, the better.