ARCHIVED CONTENT: As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
I once took care of an elderly patient who wasn’t particularly interested in some of the preventive measures I was recommending. He liked to say “you gotta die of something.” True enough. But that’s no reason to ignore measures that could prevent deaths, especially the “low-hanging fruit” such as automobile accidents.
When thinking about the most serious health problems, there are several ways of looking at them. For example, you might consider
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ARCHIVED CONTENT: As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
I once took care of an elderly patient who wasn’t particularly interested in some of the preventive measures I was recommending. He liked to say “you gotta die of something.” True enough. But that’s no reason to ignore measures that could prevent deaths, especially the “low-hanging fruit” such as automobile accidents.
When thinking about the most serious health problems, there are several ways of looking at them. For example, you might consider