Hi Island- to my knowledge, the only way to definitively tell between different arrhythmias is an EKG / cardiac monitoring. I have have all the above...PACs, PVCs and Afib every day. PACs feel more like a double beat to me and PVCs are a hard thud followed by a pause. I can usually tell when I am in Afib by feeling my pulse. If my pulse keeps speeding up and slowing down and is irregular, that is how I suspect I am in afib. Definitively, however, I would need an EKG.

For me, they seem to precede an episode of a fib. I can tell the difference, but I don't know how to explain the difference except that with PACs and PVCs they seem to be individual beats, or feel like a double beat but there are some regular beats in between.

I've had all three but am now in afib remission, post ablation. I still get PAC's and PVC's, though. PVC's usually show up as a delayed beat followed by a heavy beat that I can feel in my abdomen (left ventricle forcibly pushing blood down the abd. aorta), PAC's just skipped beats. Mine usually show up following a heavy meal or exercise, or when my blood sugar is low. I've pretty much gotten used to them and have been told by my EP that they are benign.

Mine started when my afib started. Had an ablation and my afib disappeared. The PVC's held on and were terrible (very symptomatic). I started taking a magnesium supplement and the intensity of my PVC's had reduced significantly. Shortly after noticing the change I increased the dosage to 500mg per day just before bed and my PVC's disappeared. This might not be same for everyone, but it helped me. I have been in afib remission for 14 months.