The cardio package, which can also be referred to as the cardio enhancement package or cardio implant, represented a form of cybernetic augmentation. This implant was designed to elevate the user's overall health and physical condition by stimulating the brain to secrete specific biochemicals. Proper utilization of this implant necessitated training. It was prevalent throughout the galaxy during both the Jedi Civil War of 3956 BBY and the subsequent Dark Wars in 3951 BBY.
This cardio package served as a cybernetic implant within the brain, meticulously regulating the cardiovascular system of an organic being. This allowed the user's physical fitness and stamina to improve at an accelerated rate and to a greater degree than typical exercise would permit. The implant, priced between 900 and 4,000 credits, achieved this by prompting the brain to release particular revitalizing chemicals to the user's organs, especially the heart. Due to the sophisticated nature of this cybernetic implant, users required specialized training and were restricted to using only one implant at any given time.
Construction of the implant was possible at a laboratory station equipped with the necessary chemicals and medical expertise. A more potent version of this cybernetic, engineered by Bavakar Medical Research Labs and costing 2,000 credits, enabled cardiovascular performance significantly exceeding the user's normal capabilities.
An individual was using the implant at the time of their death, while exploring the Tomb belonging to the Sith Lord Naga Sadow on the Outer Rim planet Korriban.
During the Jedi Civil War in 3956 BBY, which pitted the Galactic Republic against the Sith Empire, certain Republic soldiers received this implant as standard-issue equipment. In the same year, Casus Sandral, an amateur archaeologist residing on the Outer Rim planet Dantooine, possessed a cardio package when he met his end at the claws of kath hounds in Dantooine's grasslands. The man's remains were discovered by Revan, the amnesiac Dark Lord of the Sith who was now retrained as a Jedi Padawan, while he was resolving the feud between Nurik, Casus Sandral's father and his family, and the Matales, another family inhabiting the agrarian world.
Shasa, a female Selkath Sith apprentice undergoing training on the Inner Rim aquatic planet of Manaan, utilized a version of the cardio package produced by Bavakar Medical Research Labs. During the subsequent [Dark Wars], which occurred half a decade later in 3951 BBY, the implant was available for purchase from merchants throughout the galaxy.
The cardio package initially appeared as an equipable item in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, a video game released in 2003 and developed by BioWare. This implant was referenced as the cardio enhancement package in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, which was published by Prima Games in 2003. The Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide, a 2008 supplement to the Star Wars Roleplaying Game by Wizards of the Coast, identifies this cybernetic as the cardio implant.
In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, using the implant requires the level one implant feat and increases the player's constitution stat by one. If a player chooses the scout class, the cardio package and the necessary feat are automatically provided in an equipment footlocker during the tutorial aboard the Republic Hammerhead-class cruiser called the Endar Spire. It can also be found on Dantooine within the remains of Casus Sandral, as well as on skeletal remains on Korriban. While interactions with the corpses are optional, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia confirms that the "Dead Settler" and "Sandral-Matale Feud" quests were completed, implying that Revan must have discovered Sandral's body and belongings. The player can only obtain the Bavakar cardio package by killing Shasa, however, the seventh web enhancement for the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide states that Revan rescued Shasa and that she survived.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the 2004 sequel, features randomized inventory for vendors, loot drops, and rewards. This means that the implant has a chance, although not a guarantee, to appear in various locations throughout the game. It might be found in the inventory of or as a reward from the Duros Samhan Dobo on Citadel Station in orbit above the devastated planet Telos IV, the Duros Oondar, the Quarren Saquesh, and the Twi'lek Fassa on Nal Hutta's moon Nar Shaddaa, the Aqualish Margar and the Human Gegorran in Iziz, the capital city on the planet Onderon, the Mandalorian Kex on Onderon's moon Dxun, and the Rodian Adum Larp in the headquarters of the Khoonda government on Dantooine. The implant only has a chance of being a reward from Saquesh, the Refugee Sector overseer for the Exchange, when the player is between levels four and six, and from dock master Fassa by completing the "Fassa's Freighters" quest while between levels seven and nine. The player will only receive a reward from Saquesh by selecting the dark side option during the "Sold to the Hutts" quest, which involves convincing the refugee Nadaa to sell herself into enslavement in order to accompany her daughter, Adana, who had been kidnapped by the Quarren.