I'm 43 years old.  For the past few years I've been experiencing skipped
beats (actually premature beats).  During a recent stressful time period
they were happening at least every couple of days.  Also, once every 2 or 3
months I've experienced what seems like a double speed pulse for a few
seconds (at most) and then the pulse goes back to normal.  I never had any
of this checked out, but recently went for a routine physical and they did
an EKG, and the doctor said it looked normal.

For the past couple of months, I've mostly eliminated caffeine, and the
skipped beats are happening less often, and are harder to notice when
happening, but may be still be happening once or twice a week.   I did still
recently experience a couple of seconds of a double-speed beat when I was
lying in bed watching TV.   Neither of the 2 symptoms have happened when I
am exercising.

The doctor who did the routine physical is recommending a cardiologist to be
on the safe side.  The cardiologist's office says that  require that new
patients get an Echocardiogram done during the first visit.  Problem is that
my insurance has limits on how much per year they will pay for diagnostic
tests, and so I don't think they will be covering the cost since I believe I
am closet to the limit for diagnostic tests in 2008.

Given the costs, which I expect to be anywhere from $425 to $850, is the
Echocardiogram really likely to be of use in diagnosing what I've been
experiencing?    Would it be crazy to wait 6 months and then have it done at
the start of 2009, or would that actually be the smart thing to do?

Thanks,

Jay