Advanced Cardiac Life Support is a standardized approach to managing life-threatening cardiovascular emergencies, especially cardiac arrest. It combines rapid assessment, electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm recognition, high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillation, medications, and team-based care. It sits within acute care and resuscitation medicine and is used in emergency departments, intensive care units, operating rooms, and prehospital systems. It is commonly taught as an algorithm-driven clinical skill set for clinicians who respond to unstable patients.

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is an emergency procedure used when a person is in cardiac arrest (no effective pulse and no normal breathing). CPR is a life-support intervention in acute care, bridging to defibrillation, advanced resuscitation, and treatment of the underlying cause. It is commonly used in hospitals, emergency medical services (EMS), and community settings.

Cardiac Resuscitation is the emergency set of actions used when the heart stops pumping effectively. It is a time-critical therapy and procedure sequence used in cardiology, emergency medicine, anesthesia, intensive care, and prehospital care. It commonly includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillation when indicated, airway and ventilation support, and treatment of reversible causes. It is used in cardiac arrest and in peri-arrest states where collapse is imminent.

Cardiac Risk Stratification is the structured process of estimating a patient’s likelihood of a future cardiovascular event or complication. It is a clinical decision-making framework used across cardiology, emergency care, perioperative medicine, and long-term disease management. It combines history, examination, tests (for example, electrocardiogram), imaging (for example, echocardiography), and validated risk scores. It helps clinicians choose the intensity and timing of monitoring, diagnostic testing, and treatment.

MINOCA stands for **myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries**. It describes a **heart attack presentation** where coronary angiography shows **no obstructive coronary stenosis** that would typically explain the event. MINOCA is a **diagnostic working syndrome** in acute cardiology, not a single disease. It is commonly used in **ST-elevation MI (STEMI)** and **non–ST-elevation MI (NSTEMI)** pathways when angiography does not show an obvious culprit lesion.

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection is a non-traumatic, non-iatrogenic tear or separation within a coronary artery wall. It is a cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and myocardial infarction (MI) that is distinct from atherosclerotic plaque rupture. It belongs to cardiovascular pathology and coronary artery anatomy, and it is most often discussed in emergency and acute cardiology settings. It is commonly identified during evaluation for chest pain with electrocardiography (ECG), cardiac biomarkers (e.g., troponin), and coronary angiography.

Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction is abnormal function of the heart’s small coronary vessels that can limit blood flow to the myocardium. It is a cardiovascular pathophysiology concept most often discussed in patients with angina or ischemia despite non-obstructive epicardial coronary arteries. It sits at the intersection of coronary anatomy, endothelial biology, and ischemic heart disease evaluation. It is commonly used in chest pain assessment pathways, stress testing interpretation, and invasive coronary function testing.

Microvascular Angina is chest pain (angina) caused by dysfunction of the heart’s small coronary vessels rather than major coronary artery blockages. It is a clinical syndrome in cardiology that sits at the intersection of ischemic heart disease, coronary physiology, and symptom assessment. It is commonly discussed when patients have angina-like symptoms but non-obstructive coronary arteries on angiography or coronary CT angiography (CCTA). It is also used in the evaluation of ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) and related coronary microvascular dysfunction.

Cardiac Syndrome X is a clinical syndrome of angina-like chest pain with evidence of ischemia but without obstructive coronary artery disease on angiography. It belongs to the domain of cardiovascular pathophysiology and diagnostic cardiology. It is most commonly discussed when patients have persistent symptoms despite “normal” or non-obstructive epicardial coronary arteries. In modern practice, it overlaps with the concept of microvascular angina and ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA).

Cardiac Metastasis means cancer spread to the heart or pericardium from a tumor that started elsewhere in the body. It is a pathology topic that intersects cardiology, oncology, imaging, and cardiothoracic surgery. It is most often discussed when a patient with known or suspected malignancy develops new cardiac symptoms or abnormal tests. It is commonly identified using echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cardiac MRI), computed tomography (CT), or positron emission tomography (PET).