decompensation

American  

[dee-kom-puhn-sey-shuhn] / ˌdi kɒm pənˈseɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Medicine/Medical. the inability of a diseased heart to compensate for its defect.

2. Psychology. a loss of ability to maintain normal or appropriate psychological defenses, sometimes resulting in depression, anxiety, or delusions.

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decompensation British  

/ diːˌkɒmpɛnˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. pathol inability of an organ, esp the heart, to maintain its function due to overload caused by a disease

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Etymology

Origin of decompensation

First recorded in 1900–05; de- + compensation

Example Sentences

In one use-of-force incident in 2017, a man on mental health decompensation watch banged his tray against the window of a medical observation unit, the report says.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2023

Medical science now knows that many people living with long-term conditions such as heart, lung and liver diseases are tipped into decompensation and death by the coronavirus.

From Washington Post • Jan. 19, 2023

“But what we’re ultimately worried about is heart decompensation and dangerous arrhythmias.”

From Scientific American • Dec. 2, 2021

As a result, the source said, the patient was “undergoing a quiet decompensation where he just gets sicker and sicker.”

From The New Yorker • May 2, 2016

He also finds that the condition is not uncommon in dilated hearts, especially in mitral disease, and with other symptoms of decompensation.

From Disturbances of the Heart by Osborne, Oliver T. (Oliver Thomas)