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Rapid pulse; Pulse may be weak (thready; Rapid breathing; Anxiety or agitation; Cool, clammy skin; Weakness; Pale skin color (pallor; Sweating, moist skin; Decreased or no urine output; Low blood pressure; Confusion; Unconsciousness.
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An arrhythmia is a disorder of the heart rate (pulse) or heart rhythm, such as beating too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia), or irregularly.
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An arrhythmia is an abnormality in the heart ' s rhythm, or heartbeat pattern. The heartbeat can be too slow, too fast, have extra beats, skip a beat, or otherwise beat irregularly.
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Detailed information on arrhythmias, including symptoms, diagnostic, and treatment information
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Detailed information on arrhythmias, including symptoms, types, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on problems involving heart rhythm
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The guidelines for how long to wait before driving after having an ICD implanted have been revised, to reflect the growing number of people who receive the device preventively.
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Anemia is a condition where there is a lower than normal number of red blood cells in the blood, usually measured by a decrease in the amount of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying part of red blood cells. It gives these blood cells their red color. There are many types and potential causes of anemia. For information about a specific type of anemia, see one of the following articles: Anemia due to B12 deficiency; Anemia due to folate deficiency; Anemia due to iron deficiency; Hemolytic anemia; Hemolytic anemia due to G-6-PD deficiency; Idiopathic aplastic anemia; Idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia; Immune hemolytic anemia; Megaloblastic anemia; Pernicious anemia; Secondary aplastic anemia; Sickle cell anemia.
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Anemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin. The tissues of the human body need a regular supply of oxygen to stay healthy.
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Detailed information on anemia, including symptoms, causes, types, diagnosis, and treatment
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Anemia is characterized by an abnormally low number of red blood cells in the circulating blood. It frequently affects patients with cancer.
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Anemia is a blood disorder characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) or reduced hemoglobin (Hgb), the iron-bearing protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues throughout the body. Reduced blood cell volume (hematocrit) is also considered anemia.
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What Do You Know About Anemia?1.
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Understanding AnemiaChemotherapy can reduce the number of red blood cells in your body. When you have too few of these cells, anemia can result.
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I have been under the care of my doctor for the past five years for chronic anemia. Every so often, I receive iron infusions because my blood count is low. Can my condition make it hard for me to conceive?
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Deficiency of red cells, or hemoglobin, in the blood. Anemia is a medical condition in which the quantity of red blood cells falls below an acceptable level.
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Anemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin (the component of red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues throughout the body). The tissues of the human body need a regular supply of oxygen to stay healthy.
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Anemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin (the component of red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues throughout the body). The tissues of the human body need a regular supply of oxygen to stay healthy.
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Cancer-related Anemia: CausesNormally, the body makes enough red blood cells with hemoglobin to replace the ones that the body has used up. A hormone called erythropoietin, which is made in the kidneys, tells the body when more red blood cells are...
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Anemia: What My Red Blood Cell Count Tells MeAnemia is a condition where the number of red blood cells in the body falls below normal. This may happen if the body slows down its production of these cells.
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Anemia affects more than 30 percent of the world ' s population, and it is one of the most important worldwide health problems. It has a significant prevalence in both developing and industrialized nations.
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Anemia: What to Do When You Have ItAnemia means that the number or quality of the red blood cells is lower than normal. It can be caused by lots of things that prevent the body from being able to make enough red blood cells, such asanti-cancer tre...
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Cancer-related Anemia: PreventionIron supplements and erythropoietin are being studied in people receiving radiation and chemotherapy to prevent anemia and improve response. People at risk for nutritional problems can decrease the risk of anemia b...
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Cancer-related Anemia: TreatmentThe treatment of anemia depends upon the cause. If the anemia is due to a lack of red blood cells, then red blood cells can be given through transfusions or treatment.Red blood cell transfusions are used a lot of th...
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Detailed information on the different types of anemia, including aplastic anemia, anemia of folate deficiency, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, hemolytic anemia, iron deficiency anemia, megaloblastic anemia, and sickle cell disease
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Detailed information on anemia, including symptoms, diagnosis, causes, types, and treatment
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Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another. Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear. The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, which can add to the distress you feel.
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Anxiety is a bodily response to a perceived threat or danger. It is triggered by a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient ' s personal history and memory, and the social situation.
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Anxiety is familiar to everyone due to the many stresses and complexities of modern life.
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This report features up-to-date information on the signs, causes, and treatments of many common phobias and anxiety disorders.
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Anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient ' s personal history and memory, and the social situation.
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Fears, Phobias, and AnxietyEverybody experiences fear at some time or another. Fear is a powerful emotion that arises in situations that are interpreted as dangerous.
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Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated.
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Anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient's personal history and memory , and the social situation at hand.
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This guide is designed to help you learn about anxiety disorders. Knowing more, you may feel more comfortable talking with a health professional about your experience and your symptoms.
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Anxiety disorders are a group of disorders that can affect adults, adolescents and children. They overwhelm people with chronic feelings of anxiety and fear.
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Anxiety is a condition of persistent and uncontrollable nervousness, stress, and worry that is triggered by anticipation of future events, memories of past events, or ruminations over day-to-day events, both trivial and major, with disproportionate fears of catastrophic consequences. Stimulated by real or imagined dangers, anxiety affects people of all ages and social backgrounds.
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A condition of persistent nervousness, stress, and worry that is triggered by anticipation of future events, memories of past events, or ruminations about the self Stimulated by real or imagined dangers, anxiety affects people of all ages and social backgrounds. When it occurs in unrealistic situations or with unusual intensity, it can disrupt everyday life.
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Treating AnxietyAnxiety—feeling frightened, tense, uneasy—is a normal response to a threat. Anxiety can disrupt your life, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
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You may suffer from generalized anxiety disorder if you go through the day worried, tense or anxious about your family, health or work, even when you know there are no signs of trouble.
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Discussion of the effect of anxiety disorders on children and how they can be treated.
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Despite their age, benzodiazepines still provide unique benefits and are unlikely to be entirely superseded by newer medications. Includes a comparison chart of newer and older drugs for insomnia, anxiety, and depression.
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Anxiety: Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Guided ImagerySymptom and DescriptionIt is common to feel stress or anxiety when you have cancer. Anxiety can be a vague or uneasy feeling of distress.
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When I get nervous, I get a tic that affects the left side of my face, including my eye. What can I do about this? Is there anything I can take for it?
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There is evidence that certain herbs and supplements may be effective in treating certain types of anxiety disorders.
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Research suggests that for patients who are starting treatment for depression, their type of attachment anxiety should be taken into consideration as a factor in determining the best course of treatment.
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Separation anxiety is common in children, but most grow out of it. However, in a small percentage of children (and more rarely, in adults) it becomes a disorder. Typical treatment methods include cognitive and behavioral therapy.
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Understanding Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)You have to give a presentation next week. Just thinking about it makes your heart race.
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Detecting changes in skin color is challenging because there is such a wide range of skin
coloration in all individuals. Subtle changes like skin blanching may occur gradually
over time, or there may be a sudden onset.
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Bleeding refers to the loss of blood. Bleeding can happen inside the body (internally) or outside the body (externally. It may occur: Inside the body when blood leaks from blood vessels or organs; Outside the body when blood flows through a natural opening (such as the vagina, mouth, or rectum; Outside the body when blood moves through a break in the skin.
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Detailed information on bleeding/clotting disorders, including hemophilia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and thrombosis
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Call 911 if you can’t stop the bleeding or the victim shows signs of shock.
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Preventing Bleeding During ChemotherapyChemotherapy can make your blood less able to clot. This happens because the treatment reduces the number ofplatelets(clotting agents) in your blood.
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Clammy skin is cool, moist, and usually pale.
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Confusion is the inability to think with your usual speed or clarity, including feeling disoriented and having difficulty paying attention, remembering, and making decisions.
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Detailed information on excessive sweating, including symptoms and treatment
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A Harvard Medical School physician discusses excessive sweating while eating in diabetics, called diabetic gustatory diaphoresis.
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My friend has a week-and-a-half old baby, who has been profusely sweating. The baby even became soaked with sweat while lying in his bassinet in only a diaper and socks. What could be the cause of this? Mom has had to give him sugar bottles because of constipation. She is worried the baby could be diabetic, because dad is diabetic.
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The heart rate, usually measured by checking the arterial pulse or sounds counting the
times of the heart beat, is considered one of the vital signs. Vital signs - body
temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure provide information about the state
of health of a person and, if abnormal, offer clues to problems.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about rapid heart beat.
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Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease. Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally.
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Boosting Your Energy provides information on the causes and treatments of persistent fatigue. Includes information on aging and energy, eating for energy, and boosting your energy.
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Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness.
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Fatigue: TreatmentIf the fatigue is related to a decrease in hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, then replacing the red blood cells by transfusion or taking erythropoietin can help reduce fatigue. If the fatigue is not related to...
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If you regularly feel weary after waking from a good night’s sleep or for no apparent reason, it’s time to find out why.
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Introduction Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness.
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease. Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally.
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Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength. The duration of fatigue for a patient with cancer has been found to last from one to two times the length of time between diagnosis and completion of treatment, so it is common for fatigue to persist beyond a patient ' s treatment regimen.
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Fatigue: ManagementIf the person on chemotherapy has decreased hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, and it seems like the low hemoglobin level will last for a while, then a medicine called PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) may be prescribed...
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Fatigue: CausesWe currently understand some of the causes of fatigue but not all of them. Fatigue may be related to physical changes caused by cancer or its treatment (chemotherapy, biotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery).
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Fatigue: DefinitionFatigue is a vague feeling of being tired, weak, or exhausted. It is often a symptom of cancer, when cancer is first diagnosed, or when cancer progresses (Ferrell et al, 1996).
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Many people experience late-in-the-day energy lags, but you can take steps to prevent them.
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Oncology: Managing FatigueFatigue is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It can be caused by worry, lack of sleep, and poor appetite.
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Fidgeting is usually used to describe someone who is seen as not being able to sit still.
Fidgety people move in their seats constantly, move their hands and feet and appear to be
in perpetual motion.
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The heart rate, usually measured by checking the arterial pulse or sounds counting the
times of the heart beat, is considered one of the vital signs. Vital signs - body
temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure provide information about the state
of health of a person and, if abnormal,offer clues to problems.
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Unconsciousness is when a person is unable to respond to people and activities. Often, this is called a coma or being in a comatose state. Other changes in awareness can occur without becoming unconscious. Medically, these are called "altered mental status" or "changed mental status." They include sudden confusion, disorientation, or stupor. Unconsciousness and any other SUDDEN change in mental status must be treated as a medical emergency. If someone is awake but less alert than usual, ask a few simple questions, such as: What is your name; What is the date; How old are you. Wrong answers or an inability to answer suggest a change in mental status.
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Low blood pressure, or hypotension, occurs when blood pressure during and after each heart beat is much lower than usual. This means the heart, brain, and other parts of the body do not get enough blood. Dizziness or lightheadedness can result. See also: Blood pressure
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Hypotension is the medical term for low blood pressure. The pressure of the blood in the arteries rises and falls as the heart and muscles handle demands of daily living, such as exercise , sleep and stress .
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Doctors often consider chronically low blood pressure too low only if it drops suddenly or causes noticeable symptoms.
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While recommended healthy blood pressure levels have decreased, lowering diastolic pressure too much could deprive the heart of needed blood flow, which could be dangerous for people with coronary artery disease.
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Preliminary studies show that a promising new drug may treat the symptoms of low blood pressure.
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Moist skin is an indication that the body is sweating (perspiring). Perspiration is the
release of liquid from the sweat glands of the body, a normal body function to help the
body stay cool.
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Paleness is an abnormal loss of color from normal skin or mucous membranes.
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A normal breathing rate for an adult at rest is 8 to 16 breaths/minute. For an infant, a normal rate is up to 44 breaths/minute. Tachypnea is a medical term that your doctor would use to describe your breathing if it is too fast, particularly if you have rapid, shallow breathing due to an associated lung disease or other medical cause. In contrast, the term hyperventilation is usually used if you are taking rapid, deep breaths because of anxiety or panic. The terms may be used interchangeably, however.
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Agitation is an unpleasant state of extreme arousal, increased tension, and irritability.
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Many people experience feel short of breath during strenuous activity if they are not
accustomed to exercise. If you have a sudden onset of difficulty breathing doing a
normal routine, it may be a medical emergency.
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For the past two months I have experienced increased shortness of breath. I have chronic asthma, but there's concern the shortness of breath could be caused by a blockage in heart. I have experienced difficulties in the past when anesthetized. Is there an effective alternative to heart catheterization? I've read about a new CT scan ? is it recommended?
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Struggling to Breathe: A Nurse’s Tips for Managing DyspneaDyspnea is the technical word for difficulty breathing. It's a common symptom in people who have lung cancer or have cancer that has spread to the lungs.
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Shortness of breath may be a warning sign of heart disease.
Chest pain is a near-universal signal of heart disease. Shortness of breath may be an equally valuable tip-off.
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Severe shortness of breath and shortness of breath accompanied by certain symptoms requires immediate medical attention.
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If your child cannot seem to get enough breath in his lungs (shortness of breath) or is having a hard time breathing, he probably has a medical condition that needs treatment. If your child is old enough to talk, he can tell you that he is having difficulty breathing. If your child is younger, you may notice that he is breathing harder or faster than usual, isn't feeding well, or is cranky.
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Breathing that slows down or stops from any cause is called apnea. Apnea can come once in a while and be temporary. This can occur with obstructive sleep apnea, for example. Prolonged apnea means a person has stopped breathing. This is also called respiratory arrest when the heart is still active. Prolonged apnea accompanied by lack of any cardiac activity and a patient who is not responsive is called cardiac arrest.
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Being tired is the familiar aftermath of physical exertion, prolonged labor or lack of
sleep. When does being tired become a symptom of a condition? Fatigue, malaise,
lassitude, exhaustion are all subtle variations of the same subjective feelings of not
having enough energy to meet the demands of one's life.
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A weak pulse means you have difficulty feeling a person's pulse (heart beat. An absent pulse means you can not detect a pulse at all. See also: CPR
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Weakness is a reduction in the strength of one or more muscles.
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