Imagine having such intense, indescribable pain radiating from your chest area into your arms, neck and jaw that it causes a blackout. Now imagine waking up in a cold, white hospital room, with machines plugged in everywhere making strange noises and a doctor speaking what sounds like a foreign language with his list of big words that include myocardial infarction and angioplasty, to name a few . Then out of the Doctor's mouth come the three most disturbing words that would terrify even the most hardened criminal, "the widow maker". After analyzing medical history after medical history, the determining factor for "the widow" is cigarette smoking. Those who survive these heart attacks should consider themselves extremely lucky. It is estimated that out of every five deaths in the United States, one will be caused by cigarette smoking (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). Research has shown that smoking cigarettes increases heart attacks due to the effects of chemicals in the bloodstream. About the size of a fist, the heart's main purpose is to pump blood throughout the body to nourish it. The blood that flows into the heart through the two atria of the heart and the two ventricles of the heart. Blood flows into the heart from the superior and inferior vena cava. It then flows into the right atrium to the pulmonary trunk which divides into the right and left pulmonary trunks. These trunks travel into their respective lungs to pick up oxygen. From the lungs, blood flows into the heart from the pulmonary veins into the left atrium. From here the blood goes back into the aorta where it is then dispersed throughout the body (Gerard J. Tortora). Between each ventricle and the atrium... in the center of the paper... there is just as much stress on the heart. Works Cited Gerard J. Tortora, Bryan Derrickson. Principles of anatomy and physiology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. Jackson, Graham. Heart Health at Your Fingertips: The Complete, Medically Accurate Handbook on How to Avoid or Overcome Coronary Heart Disease and Other Heart Conditions. Barb Mews, London: Class Publishing, 2000. Kligfield MD, Paul and Michelle D. Seaton. The Cardiac Recovery Handbook: The Complete Guide to Life After a Heart Attack or Heart Surgery. Long Island City, NY: Hatherleigh Press, 2006. Book. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. November 13th 2013. .