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