This research aimed at developing a Portuguese-English glossary of compound terms in cardiology with the aid of electronic tools for corpus processing based on automation technology. The scarcity of reference material available for translators and interpreters in the medical area in Portuguese and the great frequency of occurrence of compound terms in the medical language motivated this research. The 21,872-word corpus consisted of several articles published in a monthly bilingual Brazilian scientific periodical, which is originally written in Portuguese by cardiologists and translated into English by the researcher. Different criteria were used for selecting the compound terms, yielding a 271-compound list in alphabetical order. Each term's corresponding English translation published in the scientific magazine was added to the list. The result was a Portuguese-English glossary with 271 compound terms in cardiology. Considerations on terminology, which served as basis for the research, and its relation to translation are provided.