cardiovascular
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of cardiovascular
Explanation
Use the adjective cardiovascular when you're talking about the circulatory system in general or the heart specifically. Cardiovascular exercise gets your blood pumping and is good for your heart. Cardio- means "heart," from the Greek kardia, and vascular refers to blood circulation, from a Latin root meaning "vessels or tubes." So anything cardiovascular is related to the heart muscle and the blood it pumps through arteries, veins, and capillaries. Cardiovascular diseases affect the structure of the heart itself or the vessels that help it move blood through the body. Things like not smoking and regularly moving your body can help you keep your cardiovascular system healthy.
Vocabulary lists containing cardiovascular
Body Language: Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart")
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Physical Education - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These drugs can help patients manage blood sugar, lower cardiovascular risk, and, in many cases, lose a substantial amount of weight.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
They found that the group who took Shingrix had a lower risk of cardiovascular events over the next seven years compared with those who received Zostavax.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
The initiative, “Obstetric Emergencies in Nonobstetric Settings,” offers resources for emergency departments on caring for pregnant patients with cardiovascular disease, hypertension and eclampsia.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
In another 2013 study, Swedish researchers found that singing has a biologically soothing effect, especially on cardiovascular function.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
“All this trotting to and fro will be the”—huff!—‘death of me!” she wheezed, although, as you already know, regular aerobic exercise was far more likely to improve her cardiovascular fitness than cause her demise.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
