Should I stop taking my medication, I heard on the news that it could cause a heart attack?

Before stopping any prescribed medication talk to your health care provider. There are risks and benefits to taking any medication. Your health care provider can help you decide how changing information about a particular drug effects you. He or she can also recommend alternative medications if that is necessary. Newspapers, popular magazines, radio, and television are not always good sources of health information. Short news clips rarely provide you with all the information you need to decide if the results of a particular study relate to your situation. If you want to do a little homework before talking with your provider use reputable sources of information such as the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and MedlinePlus - Drug Information.

Gail Carlson, MPH Ph.D., Continuing Medical Education, School of Medicine, 
University of Missouri-Columbia