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.
NCDs cover eight of the top 10 causes of death, with cardiovascular diseases the biggest killer by far, claiming almost 20 million deaths a year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Left untreated, the condition can lead to serious long-term health problems, including osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and fertility issues.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
AstraZeneca added that the collaboration would cover multiple international projects across the U.S., the Middle East, and Europe spanning its core disease areas—cancer, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Vascular calcification occurs when calcium builds up in blood vessel walls, making them less flexible and contributing to cardiovascular disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
It was efficient, one had to admit, but lacked the sense of adventure and cardiovascular exercise that dashing to get a good spot on line had always provided.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
