attack

attack /at·tack/ (ah-tak´) an episode or onset of illness.

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Adams-Stokes attack  an episode of syncope in Adams-Stokes syndrome.

drop attack  sudden loss of balance without loss of consciousness, usually seen in elderly women.

panic attack  an episode of acute intense anxiety, the essential feature of panic disorder.

transient ischemic attack  (TIA) a brief attack (an hour or less) of cerebral dysfunction of vascular origin, without lasting neurological effect.

vagal attack , vasovagal attack a transient vascular and neurogenic reaction marked by pallor, nausea, sweating, bradycardia, and rapid fall in arterial blood pressure, which may result in syncope.

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at·tack (-tk)

n.

An episode or onset of a disease, often sudden in nature.

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at·tack v.

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attack

an episode or onset of illness.

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attack rate

the proportion of a population affected by the disease during a prescribed, usually short, period of time.