Hi mlcheyne! When I was exactly 46 like you, suddenly my heart went wonky. I did not have 3 normal beats in a row. My heartbeats were all over the place. I saw a cardiologist who told me, "Out of 10 people who come to see me with PVCs and irregular heart beats, I treat 1 of them. You are the 1 in 10.". He said that he only treats the condition IF the person feels faint or has to constantly take breaths to get enough air. That was the case with me. He sent me for a holter monitor test and the equipment stopped functioning because the beats were too erratic. I thought it was quite funny at the time...

I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. I required the highest dose of beta blocker to control the Afib; so high that the cardiologist told me that I had to try to reduce the dose even slightly because such a high dose could make my heart suddenly stop. It wasn't so funny after all... Try as I might, I could not reduce the dose even a bit without the arrhythmia returning with a vengeance.

Finally, after almost 2 years of feeling really rotten and sluggish and like an old lady on the high dose of beta blockers, believe it or not, I CURED MYSELF!. I joined a gym and went on the treadmill every day for 35 minutes and did the regular strength training for another half hour. As the cardiologist recommended, I tried to lower the dose of beta blocker by 10%...and it worked! My heart stayed stable. I reduced it by a bit more and inside a month, I was going to the gym every day but Sunday and I was completely OFF the beta blockers. This went on for 2 months and then 3 months and no blips. (Of course I didn't touch a drop of any stimulant, not even a sip of coffee or tea for example).

I went to see the cardiologist and he said it was impossible that my Afib was cured and to prepare myself because it would come back. After 4 months I stopped going to the gym 6 days of the week. The Afib still didn't come back.

Fast forward 24 years and here I am at 70 years old (everyone says I look and act 15 years younger) and I have had the occasional flutter and blip over the years but my heart is stable. You can believe that I am highly motivated to avoid any and all stimulants for life. No coffee, tea, coke or energy drinks, no alcohol whatsoever, no exposure to cigarette smoke, no liquorice and not even too much sugar, no ephedrine which is in decongestants and the standard dental freezing. I even check vitamin supplements to make sure there are no stimulants like Gingko biloba etc..

My blood pressure is high in spite of medication. I have to lose 30 pounds which I know lowers it even with a 5 pound loss. If I could cure my Afib, I can cure my high BP. I just need to be as determined and disciplined.

If your PVCs are just an annoyance but otherwise you don't feel faint, dizzy or air hungry etc... you may not be put on meds. Thank your lucky stars if that's the case. Since you have 4 days before you see the cardiologist, why not cut out ALL the stimulants in your diet and see if these PVCs don't disappear completely? Don't even have one sip of coffee; not even decaf. Better to change your lifestyle (slightly) than to go on drugs that have their unpleasant side effects and compromise your health.

Can you let us know how your appointment goes? I think you will be sent for a holter monitor and blood tests, stress test and echocardiogram etc..to rule out any serious issues. But in the meantime, stay clear of stimulants. What do you think, mlcheyne?