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Article: Taking Care of Your Heart Requires Weighing Risks and Benefits, Says the Harvard Heart Letter
- Article from:
- U.S. Newswire
- Article date:
- May 9, 2005
CopyrightCopyright 2005 U.S. Newswire. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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BOSTON, May 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Even if you think of yourself as
the cautious type, you take risks more often than you realize. Maybe
you don't take big risks like skydiving or snake handling, but you do
take smaller risks without thinking about them, like driving a car or
taking medication.
"We are living in the "age of risk management," says Harvard risk
expert Kimberly M. Thompson. Coping with heart disease is all about
balancing benefits and risks:
-- Do I keep taking Celebrex because it's the only thing that
eases my pain, even though it might increase my chances of having a
heart attack?
-- Should I get a mechanical heart valve, which lasts longer but
means I have to take warfarin ...