Sense of impending doom

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Sense of impending doom
Specialty Critical care medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine, psychiatry
Symptoms Sensation of imminent, life-threatening danger or tragedy
Causes Pheochromocytoma, blood transfusion, heart attack, panic attack, anaphylaxis, adenosine administration, certain psychoactive substances
Risk factors Anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder), major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder

A sense of impending doom is a medical symptom that consists of an intense feeling that something life-threatening or tragic is about to occur, despite no apparent danger. Causes can be either psychological or physiological. Psychological causes can include an anxiety disorder (e.g., panic disorder), depression, or bipolar disorder. A sense of impending doom often precedes or accompanies a panic attack. Physiological causes could include a pheochromocytoma, heart attack, blood transfusion, anaphylaxis, [1] or use of some psychoactive substances. [2] The feeling can also be a transient side effect of adenosine administration, likely due to its activation of adenosine receptors. Due to adenosine's extremely short half-life, this effect is typically short-lived. [3] [4] A sense of impending doom can also present itself as a postoperative complication encountered after surgery. [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sense of impending doom: Common Related Medical Conditions". symptomchecker.webmd.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  2. ↑ Strassman, Ruck J. (1994). "Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans" (PDF). Archives of General Psychiatry. 51 (2): 98–108. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1994.03950020022002. PMID   8297217.
  3. ↑ Singh S, McKintosh R (August 28, 2023). "Adenosine". StatPearls Publishing. PMID   30085591 . Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  4. ↑ Miyawaki IA, Gomes C, Moreira VS, Marques IR, de Souza I, Silva C, Loyola J, Huh K, McDowell M, Padrao EM, Tichauer MB, Gibson CM (July 2023). "The Single-Syringe Versus the Double-Syringe Techniques of Adenosine Administration for Supraventricular Tachycardia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs. 23 (4): 341–353. doi:10.1007/s40256-023-00581-w. PMID   37162718.
  5. ↑ Lopez, Peter P.; Patel, Nilesh A.; Koche, Lisa S. (May 2007). "Outpatient complications encountered following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass". The Medical Clinics of North America. 91 (3): 471–483, xii. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2007.01.008. PMID   17509390.


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