decompensation

decompensation /de·com·pen·sa·tion/ (de″kom-pen-sa´shun)

1. inability of the heart to maintain adequate circulation, marked by dyspnea, venous engorgement, and edema.

2. in psychiatry, failure of defense mechanisms resulting in progressive personality disintegration.

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de·com·pen·sa·tion (dkm-pn-sshn)

n.

1. Failure of the heart to maintain adequate blood circulation, marked by labored breathing, engorged blood vessels, and edema.

2. The appearance or exacerbation of a mental disorder due to failure of defense mechanisms.

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decompensation

[dē′kəmpənsā′shən]

Etymology: L, de + compensare, to balance

1 the failure of a system, as cardiac decompensation in heart failure.

2 (in psychology) the failure of a defense mechanism.

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decompensation (dē·kmˈ·pen·sāˑ·shn),

n 1. a persistent (yet reversible, in some cases) pattern of dysfunction, in which homeostatic mechanisms are overwhelmed, either in part or completely.
2. postural pattern in which the musculoskeletal system indicates dysfunctional ad-justments as a result of a physical anomaly, such as shortened leg.

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decompensation

failure of compensation.

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cardiac decompensation

inability of the heart to maintain adequate circulation; it is marked by dyspnea, venous engorgement, cyanosis and edema.

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decompensation

Failure of an organ to fulfill its function adequately. Examples: corneal decompensation following years of extended contact lens wear; a failure of the eye movement system to overcome a heterophoria.

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decompensation

Medtalk An acute exacerbation or worsening of a clinical condition–eg schizophrenia, renal failure, liver failure, which had been held in check by compensatory mechanisms Psychiatry The exacerbation of a mental condition–eg schizophrenia, that occurs when corrective mechanisms cannot maintain the individual at an optimal level of functioning; the deterioration of existing defenses, leading to an exacerbation of pathologic behavior. See Nervous breakdown.