Here's where dividends help: When a stock pays them, the quarterly payments may be small, but they give you a reasonable return while you wait for the long-term gains.

FORBES: When Patience Pays

In milder cases you can have a small electric shock to get the heartbeat to return to normal, or like British Prime Minister Tony Blair had last year, a procedure called catheter ablation.

CNN: 'I'd be an invalid without this device'

And if you want to (or must) sell, even a small interest rate move can seriously impact your return.

FORBES: That Other Kind of Risk

Amber Ludwig, who had the compact, athletic body of a seal, with very small hands and dark, closely set eyes, said she feared Tom was going to return like you hear on the news and open fire.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Then We Came to the End'