| Name | msgander |
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| Location | California, USA |
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| Age | 58 will be 59 on 9-1 |
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| Diagnosed condition | atrial fibrillation, hypertension, mitral valve prolapse, sleep apnea |
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| Years with condition | AF began about 10 yrs. ago, heart murmur (mvp?) 45 yrs. ago, hprtnsn 3 yrs., apnea many yrs. diagnosed about 1986 |
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| Frequency of episodes | Daily beginning in April 01, now every other day - prior to this very sporadic, maybe twice a year or sometimes 0 per yr. |
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| Duration of episodes | 18 hours or so |
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| Event preceding first AF | Old college roommate reunion drank champagne over 3 days & had coffeee in the am. Was drinking champagne when first episode hit. I stopped drinking & took a muscle relaxant Flexeril & they stopped in about 2 hrs. |
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| General health | Excellent. I seldom drink, but alcohol has always had an odd effect on me. At 21 yrs. can remember my heart pounding at 2 :00 or 3:00 a.m. |
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| Current state | I'm fine except for AF. I conduct my very physical business even while in AF. I try not to let it interfere with my life. I miss the occasional glass of wine with friends & family. I've recently lost 10 lbs. & am slowly beginning my walks again |
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| Triggers | Alcohol, coffee, sugar, working too hard, then unable to sleep, continuing hard physical work and becoming more & more tired. Resting after a meal, almost asleep & they hit.
Also while eating, after eating, skipping a meal or two then eating always triggers an episode. Eating or not eating is always a component. |
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| Preventions | Eat breakfast rather early, don't wait until 10:00 or 11:00.
Get plenty of rest
I think exercise, because the episodes only became worse after not exercising for a year and after a very bad bout of a virus which involved a lot of coughing and the stress of income tax time. |
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| Current medications/side effects | Toprol, Diovan, Premarin, Provera, 2 baby aspirin, and occasionally Flexeril for a back problem. I used to take Flexeril to prevent AF episodes, but don't do that now because it doesn't seem to have the effect on the episodes it used to. I believe if I'm overtired it helps me get a good night's sleep which is probably the reason I thought it worked. I was sometimes dizzy during episodes but the doc changed the way I was taking the Toprol & Diovan. The dizziness has disappeared. |
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| Past medications/side effects | Digoxin in emergency rm. cont'd for a couple of weeks before I left by GP & saw cardiologist who stopped it immediately. No side effects |
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| History of surgery | None pertaining to the heart |
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| Future plans | Continue with my exercise program, and vitamin therapy. Work hard to maintain balance in my life with plenty of sleep & laughter. Reduce stress in my life and slowly wean myself away from the Toprol. Lose 20 to 30 lbs. and resume light weight training. |
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| Personal comments | After reading Hans Larsen's website, I'm so grateful I didn't see a doctor for 9 years because of the poor recommendations AFibbers receive for medications. I'm very grateful these episodes are not life threatening even though they can be uncomfortable. The discomfort was relieved greatly by the Toprol, the severity, even though it didn't stop them. |
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| Check list |  acebutolol | amiodarone (cordarone,pacerone) | anisindione (miradon) | | atenolol (tenormin) |  aspirin | azimilide | | bepridil | betaxolol | bisoprolol (monocor,emconcor) | | bretylium | bucindolol | carvedilol | | cibenzoline | dicumarol | digitoxin | | digoxin (lanoxin) | diltiazem (cardizem) | diphenylhydantoin | | disopyramide (norpace) | dofetilide (tikosyn) | dronedarone | | encainide | esmolol (brevibloc) | ersentilide | | flecainide (tambocor) | gallopamil | ibutilide (corvert) | | lidocaine | mibefradil | metoprolol (lopressor,toprol xl) | | mexiletine | moricizine | nadolol | | phenytoin | procainamide | propafanone (rythmol) | | propranolol (inderal) | quinapril (accupril) | quinidine (quinaglute) | | sotalol (betapace) | tedisamil | timolol | | tocainide | trandolapril (mavik) | valsartan (diovan) | | verapamil (calan,isoptin) | warfarin (coumadin) | asthma | | diabetes | GERD/acid reflux | hypertension | | hypotension | hyperthyroidism | hypothyroidism | | adrenergic | vagal | familial | | idiopathic/lone | paroxysmal | permanent/chronic | | atrial flutter | cardiomyopathy | CHF | | PAC | PVC | SVT | | syncope | bradycardia | tachycardia | | heart block | myocardial infarction | rheumatic heart diease | | sick sinus syndrome | stroke | WPW | | electrical cardioversion | defibrillator | pacemaker | | ablation | bypass | maze | | Male | Female | |
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