AFibbers Database: M.Z. Fleming

Name	M.Z. Fleming
Location	Claremont, California U.S.A.
Age	39
Diagnosed condition	Vagal (?) Atrial Fib
Years with condition	Official medical diagnosis established seven years ago (1996)
Frequency of episodes	Cyclical. Minor episodes on a near daily basis. Major attacks 2,3X annually
Duration of episodes	Anywhere from a few minutes to 36+ hours
Event preceding first AF	Slow build up of minor episodes, then a 48 hour attack
General health	Mild hypertension. No drink, smoke, drugs. Am within acceptable weight range for my height
Current state	Chronic A-Fib
Triggers	Sleeping on left side. Temperature extremes (Cold/Hot). "Slouching" posture. Anger/Stress. Food products such as soy, tomatoes are suspected. Caffeinated beverages. Excessive intake of air. Alcohol. Overexertion during exercise. At times there is no identifiable "trigger"; the attacks can appear at random. They are really quite unpredictable.
Preventions	Anger/Stress management,avoidance of alcoholic/caffeinated beverages,suspect foods,moderation in diet and a healthy exercise regimen, along with med intake have probably all played a role in reducing major incidents, but the attacks have by no means been eliminated
Current medications/side effects	Atenolol,50 mgs. Was on Diltiazem,125 mgs., from 1996 until 2002; discontinued calcium channel blocker on the advice of a cardiologist. I have also opted to take one 375 mg. aspirin per day, along with the atenolol.
Past medications/side effects	Diltiazem, 125 mgs. Drowsy throughout the better part of any given day.
History of surgery	None.
Future plans	Actively seeking to reduce the episodes to a bare minimum. When major attacks occur,I must work towards gaining greater control over the stress and anxiety that it produces (this is the most worrisome aspect of this illness; the fear that something will go critically wrong with my heart when these frightening episodes occur). If illness becomes progressively chronic (to the point where the major episodes make life barely tolerable)then I may seek invasive procedure (ablation) to reduce or eliminate this problem.
Personal comments	I am quite pleased that support and information sites such as this exist for the afib community. I do not feel so alone; the anxiety producing tension that comes with an illness that could strike at such a sensitive organ at any given time has made my life quite miserable. Just knowing there are others like me provides for a semblance of emotional comfort and understanding. Thank you.
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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