HESI American Career College Practice Exam

A sudden onset, occurring abruptly is described by paroxysmal. In medical use, paroxysmal refers to events that begin suddenly, last briefly, and can recur. For example, paroxysmal episodes of seizures or arrhythmias start quickly and then stop. The other terms don’t capture that abrupt start: ongoing means continuous or extending in time, not the timing of onset; overt means obvious or visible, not about how things begin; ostracize means to exclude someone, which is unrelated to onset or timing.