Definition: Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder. People with bulimia may secretly binge eating large amounts of food with a loss of control over the eating and then purge, trying to get rid of the extra calories in an unhealthy way.
Bulimia tends...
Definition: Nootropics (/noʊ.əˈtrɒpɪks/ noh-ə-TROP-iks) (colloquial: smart drugs and cognitive enhancers) are sometimes called smart drugs, brain boosters, or memory-enhancing drugs, the term “nootropics” was coined by scientist Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea, who developed the compound piracetam as a brain enhancer, according to The Atlantic. While many substances are purported to...
Definition: Cardiac arrest is a serious heart condition that is a sudden loss of blood flow resulting from the failure of the heart to effectively pump. A sudden cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to a portion of the heart is blocked. However,...
Definition: Cardiac arrest (or Sudden cardiac arrest) is the sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. It is different from a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to a portion of the heart is blocked. However, a heart attack can sometimes trigger an electrical disturbance that leads...
Definition: Shortness of breath (or Breathlessness) is the feeling that one cannot breathe well enough. The medical term for shortness of breath is “dyspnea.” It is often described as an intense tightening in the chest, air hunger or a feeling of suffocation. English dyspnea comes from Latin dyspnoea, from Greek...
Definition: Orthopnea (or orthopnoea) is shortness of breath (dyspnea) or difficulty breathing when people are lying down. It comes from the Greek words “ortho,” which means straight or vertical, and “pnea,” which means “to breathe.” It is commonly seen as a late manifestation of heart failure, resulting from fluid redistribution...
Definition: Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress. The DSM-5 defines panic attacks as abrupt surges of intense fear or...
Definition: Polycystic liver disease (PLD or PCLD) is an inherited condition characterized by many cysts of various sizes scattered throughout the liver. It is commonly seen in association with autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease, with a prevalence of 1 in 400 to 1000, and accounts for 8–10% of all cases of...
Definition: Hepatopulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a syndrome of shortness of breath and hypoxemia caused by pulmonary microvascular vasodilation in patients with portal hypertension; dyspnea and hypoxemia are worse when the patient is upright. The problem is that when the liver is not working properly, the blood vessels in the lungs,...