Meaning & use
cardiac
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Relating to the heart or to heart diseases and conditions.
Grammar: Used before a noun: cardiac arrest, cardiac muscle.
Patterns
- cardiac arrest
- cardiac disease
- cardiac surgery
The patient suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital.
Regular exercise can reduce the risk of cardiac disease.
She underwent cardiac surgery to repair a valve.
adjectivebefore a nounmedicaltechnical
Relating to the part of the stomach near the esophagus (the cardia).
Grammar: Technical use; usually before a noun like 'cardia' or 'region'.
Patterns
- cardiac region
- cardiac orifice
The cardiac region of the stomach is where the esophagus enters.
The cardiac orifice controls the passage of food into the stomach.
Common combinations
- cardiac arrest
- He was trained to perform CPR in case of cardiac arrest.
- cardiac disease
- Smoking increases the risk of cardiac disease.
- cardiac surgery
- The hospital has a specialized cardiac surgery unit.
- cardiac muscle
- Cardiac muscle tissue is found only in the heart.
- cardiac output
- The doctor measured the patient's cardiac output.
Synonyms and how they differ
- heart-related
- Everyday alternative; use when you don't need a medical term.
- coronary
- Relating to the arteries that supply the heart, not the heart itself.
Word family
- cardia noun
- The opening of the stomach, not the heart.
Commonly confused: cardiac or cardigan? cardiac or cardinal?
cardiac vs cardigan
A knitted sweater, not related to the heart.
cardiac vs cardinal
Means 'most important' or a high-ranking church official; not medical.
Practice
The athlete collapsed on the field and was later diagnosed with a ______ condition.
Choose one answer.
Cardiac is the adjective meaning 'relating to the heart'. Cardia is a noun for part of the stomach; cardigan is a sweater; cardinal means 'main' or a church official.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cardiac”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.