Cardiotoxic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to agents that can cause damage to heart muscle or adversely affect its functioning
2. Relating to chemicals that have detrimental effects on cardiac tissues and overall heart health
3. Causing injury or adverse effects to the heart muscle or its function

Etymology: Few English words wear their origins as openly as this one. "Cardio-" comes from Ancient Greek "kardía," meaning "heart," a word inherited from a very old Indo-European root, while "toxic" traces back to "tóxon," the Greek word for "bow" (the weapon). The link is that Greek archers dipped their arrows in poison, so "toxikón" came to mean something like "relating to arrow poison," and the Romans borrowed it as "toxicum." Over centuries the sense broadened from poisoned arrows to poison in general. English took "toxic" from French "toxique," and it is that adjective which gives the modern compound its meaning. "Cardiotoxic" is simply "cardio-" joined to "toxic," a straightforward modern formation from classical parts, used in medicine and pharmacology to describe substances harmful to the heart. Its meaning follows directly from its two halves: a heart-harming poison.

Synonyms: heart-damaging, toxic to the heart