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Chronic (medicine)

 

 
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Chronic (medicine)
 
 
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In medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, a chronic disease is a disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 that is long-lasting or recurrent. The term chronic describes the course
Course (medicine)

In medicine, a course of medication is a period of continuous treatment with a drug, sometimes with variable dosage. Treatment with some drugs should not end abruptly....
 of the disease, or its rate of onset and development. A chronic course
Course (medicine)

In medicine, a course of medication is a period of continuous treatment with a drug, sometimes with variable dosage. Treatment with some drugs should not end abruptly....
 is distinguished from a recurrent
Recurrence relation

In mathematics, a recurrence relation is an equation that defines a sequence recursion: each term of the sequence is defined as a Function of the preceding terms....
 course; recurrent diseases relapse
Relapse

A relapse occurs when a person is affected again by a condition that affected them in the past. This could be a medical or psychological condition such as Clinical depression, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, cancer or an addiction to a drug abuse....
 repeatedly, with periods of remission
Remission (medicine)

Remission is the state of absence of disease activity in patients with known chronic illness. It is commonly used to refer to absence of active cancer or inflammatory bowel disease....
 in between. As an adjective, chronic can refer to a persistent and lasting medical condition. Chronicity is usually applied to a condition that lasts more than three months.

The definition of a disease or causative condition may depend on the disease being chronic, and the term chronic will often, but not always appear in the description:



Many chronic diseases require chronic care management
Chronic care management

Chronic care management encompasses the oversight and education activities conducted by professionals to help patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, multiple sclerosis and sleep apnea learn to understand their condition and live successfully with it....
 for effective long-term treatment.

ly one in two Americans (133 million) has a chronic medical condition of one kind or another.






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Encyclopedia


In medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, a chronic disease is a disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 that is long-lasting or recurrent. The term chronic describes the course
Course (medicine)

In medicine, a course of medication is a period of continuous treatment with a drug, sometimes with variable dosage. Treatment with some drugs should not end abruptly....
 of the disease, or its rate of onset and development. A chronic course
Course (medicine)

In medicine, a course of medication is a period of continuous treatment with a drug, sometimes with variable dosage. Treatment with some drugs should not end abruptly....
 is distinguished from a recurrent
Recurrence relation

In mathematics, a recurrence relation is an equation that defines a sequence recursion: each term of the sequence is defined as a Function of the preceding terms....
 course; recurrent diseases relapse
Relapse

A relapse occurs when a person is affected again by a condition that affected them in the past. This could be a medical or psychological condition such as Clinical depression, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, cancer or an addiction to a drug abuse....
 repeatedly, with periods of remission
Remission (medicine)

Remission is the state of absence of disease activity in patients with known chronic illness. It is commonly used to refer to absence of active cancer or inflammatory bowel disease....
 in between. As an adjective, chronic can refer to a persistent and lasting medical condition. Chronicity is usually applied to a condition that lasts more than three months.

The definition of a disease or causative condition may depend on the disease being chronic, and the term chronic will often, but not always appear in the description:

  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
    Chronic fatigue syndrome

    Chronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name given to a poorly understood, variably debilitating disorder or disorders of uncertain etiology....
  • Chronic osteoarticular diseases: rheumatoid arthritis
    Rheumatoid arthritis

    Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic disease inflammation that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks the joints producing a inflammatory synovitis that often progresses to destruction of the articular cartilage and ankylosis of the joints....
    , osteoarthritis
    Osteoarthritis

    Osteoarthritis , is a group of diseases and mechanical abnormalities entailing degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and the subchondral bone next to it....
  • Chronic respiratory diseases: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma
    Asthma

    Asthma is a common chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in which the Lung constrict, become inflammation, and are lined with excessive amounts of thickened mucus, often in response to one or more triggers....
  • Chronic renal failure
    Chronic renal failure

    Chronic kidney disease , also known as chronic renal disease, is a progressive loss of kidney over a period of months or years. The symptoms of worsening kidney function are unspecific, and might include feeling malaise and experiencing a anorexia....
  • Diabetes mellitus
    Diabetes mellitus

    Diabetes mellitus , often referred to simply as diabetes , is a syndrome of disordered metabolism, usually due to a combination of genetic disorder and environmental causes, resulting in abnormally high blood sugar levels ....
  • Chronic hepatitis
  • Autoimmune diseases, like lupus erythematosus
    Lupus erythematosus

    Lupus erythematosus is a connective tissue disease....
  • Cardiovascular diseases: heart failure, ischemic cardiopathy, cerebrovascular disease
    Cerebrovascular disease

    Cerebrovascular disease is a group of brain dysfunctions related to disease of blood vessels supplying the brain. Hypertension is the most important cause that damages the blood vessel lining endothelium exposing the underlying collagen where platelets aggregate to initiate a repairing process which is not always complete and perfect....
  • Pregnancy
    Pregnancy

    Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or Multiple birth....
  • Neoplasic diseases not amenable to be cured
  • Osteoporosis
    Osteoporosis

    Osteoporosis is a disease of bone that leads to an increased risk of bone fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of collagen proteins in bone is altered....


Many chronic diseases require chronic care management
Chronic care management

Chronic care management encompasses the oversight and education activities conducted by professionals to help patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, multiple sclerosis and sleep apnea learn to understand their condition and live successfully with it....
 for effective long-term treatment.

Prevalence

Nearly one in two Americans (133 million) has a chronic medical condition of one kind or another. However, most of these people are not actually disabled, as their medical conditions do not impair normal activities. According to this report, the most common chronic conditions are high blood pressure
Hypertension

Hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, HTN or HPN, is a medical condition in which the blood pressure is chronically elevated....
, arthritis
Arthritis

Arthritis is a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in people older than fifty-five years....
, respiratory diseases like emphysema
Emphysema

Emphysema is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . It is often caused by exposure to toxin Chemical substance, including long-term exposure to tobacco smoking....
, and high cholesterol
Hypercholesterolemia

Hypercholesterolemia is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood . It is not a disease but a metabolism derangement that can be secondary to many diseases and can contribute to many forms of disease, most notably cardiovascular disease....
. That number is projected to increase by more than one percent per year by 2030, resulting in an estimated chronically ill population of 171 million.

60% are between the ages of 18 and 64. 90% of seniors have at least one chronic disease, and 77% of them have two or more chronic diseases.

See also

  • Acute (medicine)
    Acute (medicine)

    In medicine, an acute disease is a disease with either or both of:# a rapid onset;# a short course .This adjective is part of the definition of several diseases and is, therefore, incorporated in their name, for instance, severe acute respiratory syndrome, acute leukemia....
  • Homeopathic theory of chronic diseases
    Homeopathic Materia Medica

    Homeopathic Materia Medica are encyclopedia of materials which may be used to prepare homeopathy medicines. They list the materials along with details of the provings which establish the symptoms and conditions for which they seem suitable....
  • Chronic pain
    Chronic pain

    Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists longer than the temporal course of natural healing, associated with a particular type of injury or disease process....
  • Course (medicine)
    Course (medicine)

    In medicine, a course of medication is a period of continuous treatment with a drug, sometimes with variable dosage. Treatment with some drugs should not end abruptly....
  • Disease management (health)
    Disease management (health)

    Disease management is defined as "a system of coordinated health care interventions and communications for populations with conditions in which patient self-care efforts are significant." It is the process of reducing healthcare costs and/or improving quality of life for individuals by preventing or minimizing the effects of a disease, usuall...
  • Dynamic treatment regimes
    Dynamic treatment regimes

    In medical research, a dynamic treatment regime is a set of sequential decision rules defining what actions should be taken to treat a patient based on information observed up to that point....
  • Medical tattoo
    Medical tattoo

    A medical tattoo is a tattoo used to show the illnesses or allergetic reactions one has. Medical tattoos can be placed on someone for the following reasons:...
  • Virtual Wards
    Virtual Wards

    A virtual ward is a cadre for providing support in the community to people with the most complex medical and social needs. The concept was developed in Croydon Primary Care Trust - and virtual wards are now being introduced in several parts of the UK ....