GMAT Verbal Reasoning Practice Test 1

Statistics can be very deceiving. In this case, based only on the numbers, St. Mary’s seems like a safer place to undergo heart surgery. But what you do not know about St. Mary’s and St. Vincent’s can lead you to make a poor choice. If St. Vincent’s specializes in heart surgery for elderly and high-risk patients (choice A), then it is logical that it would have a higher rate of mortality among its patients. Indeed, given this fact, the difference in mortality rates may make a case for going to St. Vincent’s instead of St. Mary’s. Assuming you are not an elderly or high-risk patient, to make an informed choice, you would need statistics about St. Vincent’s mortality rates for surgery on patients who are not elderly or high risk. Up-to-date equipment is important (choice B), but the condition of the patients prior to surgery and the skill of the surgeons are more important considerations. The fact that St. Vincent’s has the best heart surgeon in the country (choice C) is compelling, but it does not contradict the statistics. The payment options (choice D) are irrelevant if you do not survive the surgery, and there can be many reasons why the doctors who worked at St. Mary’s are now at St. Vincent’s (choice E), so you cannot consider this factor without more information.