A historical medical term for heart disease caused or aggravated by exposure to swampy, marshy environments and the diseases associated with them.
From cardio- (heart) and paludism (Latin paludis, swamp, + -ism, condition). A 19th-century term reflecting the belief that miasma from swamps caused cardiac illness.
This word captures the outdated 'miasma theory' of disease—doctors once thought bad swamp air literally poisoned the heart, before they understood malaria and other infections were the real culprits.
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