Beyond Depression From the WebMD Archives Sometimes James Coats would wake his family in the darkness of a quiet night because he was sure he was about to die. His chest hurt, he felt dizzy, and he had an overwhelming sense of doom. "I'd haul my wife and children off to the emergency room at two or three in the morning, because I thought I was having a heart attack," says Coats, 56, a semi-retired construction contractor who lives near Raleigh, N.C. "I'd find out it wasn't a heart attack, but it sure felt like one." Coats had other unexplained symptoms. His heart rate and respiration would suddenly increase. He would begin to perspire excessively, and tremble. But most of the time he would be filled with a pervasive anxiety that left him incapable of doing such simple things as leaving the house.