| Name | Cheryl |
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| Location | Ashland, Oregon |
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| Age | 62 |
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| Diagnosed condition | Proximal atrial fibrillation and mitral valve prolapse |
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| Years with condition | 15 |
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| Frequency of episodes | it bagan at once or twice in several months and worked up to seven or more a week |
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| Duration of episodes | range from a few seconds to 41/2 hours |
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| Event preceding first AF | my first serious episode occured the day after I had a painful surgery. My nurse didn't give me my pain meds and I believe the stress of all that pain set it off. |
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| General health | good |
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| Current state | not cured but reasonably healthy |
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| Triggers | heavy meal & indigestion, fatigue (lack of sleep),alcohol occasionally, stress occasionally, resting after exertion, |
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| Preventions | 25 mg twice a day of atenalol helps control it. |
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| Current medications/side effects | atenalol- 50mg/day - decreased stamina and exercise capacity, light headedness when bending down and then getting up quickly
65 mg warfarin/ week - bruising (but it's been virtually impossible to reach my 2.5 protime level since I eat so many vegetables.) |
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| Past medications/side effects | I took digoxin for 10 years for PAC's/PVC's and rare, very short (seconds) episodes of afib. My doctor switched me to atenalol a year ago after 2 weeks of PAC's/PVC's and then a 4 1/2 hr. episode of afib. |
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| History of surgery | I've never had cardiovascular surgery. |
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| Future plans | I hope to see another cardiologist for a second opinion since my current cardiologist is just letting it go on. I feel like there must be more I can do to help myself besides just waiting for my heart to wear itself out. |
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| Personal comments | My mother had atrial fib. and at that time, her doctor wouldn't take her seriously. Whenever she went into afib he would tell her to take a Vallium. He never put her on beta blockers or Coumadin and so at the age of 70 she had a major stroke and thereafter she continued to fibrullate and have TIA's. After several years she went into congestive heart failure and died two years after at the age of 87.
I don't know if she had mitral valve prolapse (as I have) because her doctor never told her or us very much about her condition.
I have had the mitral valve prolapse for a long time, I suspect. I also suspect that I could have gone on for much longer without the a-fib if I had not been such a big drinker. I used to average about 2 or 3 glasses of wine a day. I also believe that stress has played a huge part in my condition. I have a husband who is a boarderline personality (very angry, high-strung and unpredictable) and I taught junior high school for years so stress has been a huge part of my life. Also I have had GERD most of my llife and sometimes it seems as though my afib attacks coinside with GERD problems (for instance, if I forget to take my Prevacid.) I gave up the drinking except for an occasional glass of wine with food and I'm excercising way more now.
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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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