SCA
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Sickle cell anemia |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Medical, Business & Finance, Technology & Computing |
SCA has four meanings. The most common are Sickle cell anemia (hematology and oncology) and Sudden cardiac arrest (cardiology); it can also stand for Strong customer authentication and Software composition analysis.
Meanings of SCA at a glance
| # | SCA stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sickle cell anemia | Medical › Hematology and Oncology |
| 2 | Sudden cardiac arrest | Medical › Cardiology |
| 3 | Strong customer authentication | Business & Finance › Banking |
| 4 | Software composition analysis | Technology & Computing › Cybersecurity |
1. Sickle cell anemia
Medical · Hematology and Oncology Abbreviations
Most severe common form of sickle cell disease, in which a person inherits two copies of the sickle hemoglobin gene (HbSS) or HbS with beta-zero thalassemia. Red cells survive only about 10 to 20 days instead of 120, causing chronic hemolytic anemia.
Example: SCA with baseline Hgb 7.5, presenting with fever 39.2: empiric ceftriaxone given functional asplenia.
American physician James Herrick published the first Western description of sickle cells in 1910, and Linus Pauling's 1949 paper called it a "molecular disease," the first disease traced to an abnormal protein. Children with SCA receive penicillin prophylaxis because the spleen stops working early in life. In cardiology SCA means sudden cardiac arrest.
2. Sudden cardiac arrest
Medical · Cardiology Abbreviations
Abrupt loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness, usually caused by ventricular fibrillation. More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, and survival depends on immediate CPR and early defibrillation.
Example: Bystander CPR and an AED shock at the track meet saved a teenager after SCA.
Often confused with a heart attack: an MI is a circulation problem that can trigger SCA, while SCA is an electrical failure in which the heart stops pumping. Survival to hospital discharge after out-of-hospital arrest is roughly 10 percent in the US. In hematology SCA means sickle cell anemia.
3. Strong customer authentication
Business & Finance · Banking Abbreviations
Security requirement under the EU's PSD2 that online payments and account access be verified with at least two independent factors: something the customer knows (a password or PIN), has (a phone or card) or is (a fingerprint or face). It aims to cut online payment fraud.
Example: Because of SCA, the bank asked her to approve the online purchase in its mobile app.
Enforcement for e-commerce began in most of the EU at the end of 2020, with the UK following in 2022. Exemptions apply to low-value payments, trusted merchants and transactions judged low-risk. Card payments typically meet SCA through 3-D Secure. In company law, SCA can also mean a société en commandite par actions.
4. Software composition analysis
Technology & Computing · Cybersecurity Abbreviations
Tools that inventory the open-source libraries and dependencies in an application and flag known vulnerabilities, outdated versions and license conflicts. Much of modern software consists of third-party packages.
Example: SCA found a vulnerable version of Log4j buried three levels deep in our dependency tree.
Examples include GitHub Dependabot, Snyk and OWASP Dependency-Check. The 2021 Log4Shell crisis showed how hard it is to know where a library is used, which boosted adoption. These tools can also generate software bills of materials.
Related abbreviations
More hematology and oncology abbreviations
- R-CHOP – Rituximab, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin (doxorubicin)…
- RECIST – Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors
- RT – Radiation therapy
- SBRT – Stereotactic body radiation therapy
- SCD – Sickle cell disease
- SCLC – Small cell lung cancer
- SCT – Sickle cell trait
- SD – Stable disease
See all 144 hematology and oncology abbreviations →
More cardiology abbreviations
- SA – Sinoatrial
- SAVR – Surgical aortic valve replacement
- SBE – Subacute bacterial endocarditis
- SBP – Systolic blood pressure
- SCAD – Spontaneous coronary artery dissection
- SEM – Systolic ejection murmur
- SSS – Sick sinus syndrome
- ST – ST segment
See all 229 cardiology abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.