[billybek]

Just a quick update on this thread.
I had taken the advice here and treated this seriously, so thanks for that.

I visited my GP and had told him my concerns and I was told by him that it was probably a benign condition. I expressed my concerns about the probably part of the equation, explaining that some of my activities (hockey and mountain biking) can take my heart rate to very high levels and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to drop dead because of them.

Step 1 was a Holter Monitor.
Had the monitor overnight and was able to feel a few of the disruptions to the normal rhythm and cued the monitor at that time.

My GP had then sent me to a cardiac testing facility and had a bunch of blood work done. After a consult, I had a treadmill stress test.

Cardiologist reviewed tests and blood work and except for a slightly high bad cholesterol reading (bad diet with my family away for the last few months) I was told to keep doing what ever exercise I wanted and that my risk of heart attack/stroke is very low for someone of my age (53).

So I guess I will see if I can pick up some spare spots in my summer hockey sessions as I didn't sign up this year and get back on the old Blur LT and start climbing again.

Things that I have changed since the PACs had begun (that's what they called them btw):
Cut down on coffee. Only one cup in the morning
Cut back on chocolate. I really like this and still have one square with my coffee in the morning. I was told by the cardiologist that some chocolate is very good for maintaining artery flexibility...
Cut back on booze. To be honest I was probably drinking too much. I haven't quit but I have cut back to a few beers during the week and I really watch my intake on the weekends.
Stopped taking some supplements that I had read could contribute to this.

To make a long story just a little bit longer, I am glad that I had the testing done. Nice to have some piece of mind and some confidence that what you love to do wont kill you. I still have them but they don't bother me now that I know what they are.



Cheers,