Too much — or too little — can be perilous to your heart.

As in the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, finding what’s “just right” for you sometimes means pursuing your options in unfamiliar territory until you get what you need. As a group, older heart patients are at particular risk for undertreatment as well as overtreatment with medications and procedures — territory best known to physicians. But often, patients need to take some of the responsibility for finding a golden mean of medical care.

Undertreatment: Too little

Beware of cavalier dismissals of medical problems from family or friends, and some doctors, who say that certain symptoms mean you’re “just getting old,” says Gary S. Francis, M.D., medical director of the Coronary…

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