Apparent life-threatening events (ALTE) is a medical term used to describe a sudden and frightening episode of apparent breathing or cardiac arrest in infants and young children. This term can be replaced with other synonyms such as "near-miss sudden infant death syndrome" or "breath-holding spells" in describing such events. Breath-holding spells are more specific and usually refer to a brief loss of consciousness caused by a temporary cessation of breathing. Near-miss sudden infant death syndrome is a more alarming term and often used to describe an episode that appears to be life-threatening but has no apparent cause. These synonyms offer alternative ways to describe these events, each with a different emphasis on their implications.