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

See Examples For:

decompensation

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

Division of Treatment.—The treatment of the disease then may be said to be divided into three stages: first, the stage of compensation; second, that of moderate compensation; third, that of decompensation.

From Dietetics for Nurses by Proudfit, Fairfax T.