adjective

cardiovascular

/ˌkɑːr.di.oʊˈvæs.kjə.lər/ · say it: KAR·dee·oh·VAS·kyuh·lur

relating to the heart and blood vessels

In Medicine & Health

In more detail

relating to the heart and blood vessels, or to the system that pumps blood around the body

Examples

Regular exercise improves cardiovascular health.
Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

How to use cardiovascular

Cardiovascular is a technical but widely used adjective in medical, health, and fitness contexts. It refers to the combined functioning of the heart and blood vessels as a single system. In professional and educational settings, it is the standard term; in casual conversation, people might say 'heart and blood vessel' or use the shortened 'cardio' informally.

Common phrases

cardiovascular disease
cardiovascular system
cardiovascular health
cardiovascular exercise
cardiovascular fitness

Synonyms

cardiac · circulatory · heart-and-blood-vessel

Word family

cardiovascular (adjective) · cardiology (noun) · cardiologist (noun) · cardio (noun, informal)

A common mistake

Learners sometimes treat 'cardiovascular' as a noun (e.g., 'I do cardiovascularevery day') when it is strictly an adjective; the noun form is 'cardio' in informal usage or 'cardiovascular system/disease' in formal contexts.

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