I only had 6 episodes before my ablation. Afib only gets worse. Its easier to fix now

No-one can say how fast it progresses in each case.

Sometimes lifestyle changes can lessen the burden. You might want to alter your lifestyle first. Also, making sure your addressing contributing medical factors.

Some people wait because the criteria for ablation includes being symptomatic and there are risks.

The technology is improving and it might work better in the future.

If you look at the "absolute" success rates between paroxysmal and persistent, it is only about 10%. An excerpt from stopafib.org:

"Dr. Cole presented results on 1,362 patients730 paroxysmal, 295 persistent, and 337 longstanding persistent AF patients. Despite the more extensive lesion sets, persistent and longstanding persistent afib patients still had lower success rates than patients with paroxysmal AF. When a single ablation was performed, paroxysmal patients had 10% higher success rates, and 8% higher with more than one ablation"

Then you have to look at what they mean by "success" for any afib patient. Some use the term to mean lessening of frequency and symptoms. If you have few occurrences and symtoms, you won't gain a lot, but you could eliminate the afib. That would be a great thing.

There is an 8% recurrence rate. You might have to get a second ablation before you planned on getting your first ablation if you waited.

You need to look at your CHA2DS2Vasc score. If it is low and/or you are on an anticoagulant, you should be fine. The risk is low, but everyone has stroke risk.

If your rate is well controlled or you have short episodes, you are not likely to have heart failure.

If your atria are being monitored for dilation, and your atria are normal size, your chance of success in ablation is good.

What people don't like to talk about is the small risk of complications or the smaller risk of permanent injury or death. One thing that gets my attention is the chance for getting another arrhythmia, and not just flutter, which is very common.

So... if you have few episodes, you are addressing all your health issues, your heart is being monitored for dilation, waiting is a valid option.

petey

I would say get all the testing that you can. a 30 day holter monitor, echo, possibly MRI, nuclear stress test. Between all of those, your EP will be able to say whether or not you are a good candidate, and you'll be well-informed as to the extent of your condition enough to make that call. For the most part, if your heart is good structurally, and you're still paroxysmal, you're a good candidate for ablation.

The decision to ablate is a personal one, since afib in and of itself isn't life-threatening, and all surgeries have inherent risk. For me, afib burden interferes with my life enough that the small chance of permanent disability or death isn't enough to dissuade me.

My PAF has been less of a burden for me over time. I was diagnosed July '11. I stopped all alcohol and since I retired, my stress level has dropped a huge amt.

I am in no hurry to get ablation. When I feel I need one, I will get one. Until then, afib is a nuisance, inconvenient and humbles me. It reminds me that everyday is precious, and I never know what tomorrow will bring.
I took good health for granted before afib. Now I savor each good day!

wl, what illness triggers this for you? Im a 2-4 per year afibber now and when Im feeling ill with bug, flu, sinus etc, that seems to trigger it. If your chad score is fine, I would think the risk is no worse than anyone without this condition. There are many who battle this once a week for years who are not ablated.

Thanks all. My CHAD score is 0 and I so far the episodes only come frequently when I have resp. issues as Hwkmn mentioned. Otherwise, it has ranged from 8 months to 3 months between episodes. I did have a short span last year where it happened 1x per month. I can work and sleep through them. Right now I am weighing my options. Deal with the occasional annoyance and real pain when I am sick or deal with the risks of surgery. I have a 11 year old too, so the idea of a major surgery does give me more pause due to those risks. I appreciate all the feedback.