First, congrats on making the decision. Now follow through. Tapering is by far the safest on the body but you should find a doctor who will help. If your regular doc is not familiar with alcohol WD, find one that is. Most want to give benzo's with little follow-up or a strict taper schedule for those. In your case I would be wary with the heart thing. I tapered at home and had few WD's. I kept a pretty strict schedule and felt really good after a week--that's when it takes strength and not believe that voice that sez "it wasn't really that bad" and stick to your zero day. 2 weeks and I only had sketchy sleep for a few nights. I was up to 30-45 units per day so it's definitely do-able. The good news is sobriety is just as progressive as alcoholism. Best wishes on your hubby and you kicking alcohol to the curb forever.