Heart disease is a general term that refers to a range of acute and chronic medical conditions that involve one or more of the components of the heart. The heart continuously pumps blood carrying oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Diseases affecting the heart may be structural or functional. Anything that damages the heart or decreases the heart’s supply of oxygen, makes it less efficient, reduces its ability to fill and pump, will disrupt the coordinated relationship between the heart, kidneys, and blood vessels and will harm not only the heart but the rest of the body as well.