I might be wrong but I feel that members of the medical community and especially men, consider panic attacks as a female, hysterical thing.

Years ago, I received a call at work from a paramedic, who a gas station owner had called because my girlfriend had pulled up, unable to speak and wrote down my phone number. He got scared and called the paramedics. So, the paramedic calls me and acts like my girlfriend is this mental case, who he has to step in for. But, I said, "Excuse me sir, my girlfriend had surgery for a brain tumor several years ago so why are you automatically dismissing this as hysteria?" You know what? He didn't change his tune or tone and I had to drive to the station to get her. She refused to go back to the doctor out of fear of another tumor so we never did find out what caused this moment but I was put off by the paramedics attitude toward it.