I will tell you my experience for the past 4 mo. I found out I had A-Fib in April. I was asymptomatic, witht he exception of fatigue and dizziness. They told me it is permanent A-fib. I've had a cardioversion that worked 3 days. I've been on sotalol for the past couple mo. and hated the effects of it, so I'm now determined to get weaned off of it. I have sleep apnea and I'm on C-pap and that is helping the fatigue. I'm going to live with this, because the chances of another cardioconversion working or ablation working are not good...so I'm through being the hampster running around wildly on the wheel. I'm just going to take the warfarin and my lopressor and call it good. I can't advise you what to do. I thought surely they could cure it...they can't, and I wouldn't go through mini-maze or maze procedure, because I've heard of failures there. I'm going to just try and enjoy the days I feel good:) You have to follow your heart on this one.

Before my ablation, I had several cardioversions done. They lasted various amounts of time. As far as deciding on ablation or mini maze, that is something you are going to have to research and decide which is best for you. Talk to your EP and see which procedure they recommend. I know people who have done well this both of these procedures. Good Luck

I believe each person has to make their own decision as each of us is different. I have had an ablation which was about 80% successful and by taking Rythmol did not have any incidences for two years. I was able to get off warfarin which was great. About 4 months ago I went into AFib again. Did a cardioversion which corrected it until this week and had to have another cardioversion this week. In discussion with my cardiologist we have decided to go ahead and do a second ablation to hopefully knock out the AFib once and for all. I thought this was my best option in order to get off all meds, future cardioversions, etc. I would suggest talking with lots of folks, including your doctors, who have experience with all the different options in order to make the best decision for you. By the way, I am now taking pradaxa instead of warfarin which to me is a better choice. Good luck, I hope this helps a little.

it's a crap shoot. Sorry to call it this but every single person who has Afib is different in some way. You are lucky in the sense that you did not feel the effects. I have felt it every day for 9 years until I tried all of the meds and none were working so I finally had the ablation. It was not pleasant for me but some say they did not mind it. It just feels good to have a normal heart beat after so many years. I know it is a matter of time before it comes back but it;s been 4 months now and I am enjoying whatever time it lasts. Not sure what I will do if it comes back.

I think I commented on this before.. you cannot be in permanent AFIB if you were just diagnosed and if they have never TRIED to put you in sinus rhythm. You probably mean PERSISTENT AFIB (versus paroxymal, which is on and off). Persistent means you won't come out of AFIB without medical intervention. There are also some definitions that mention length of time in AFIB. Fixing the sleep apnea apparently helps your chances of success. So does left atrial size (larger is not good) and if you have other heart issues. ASYMPTOMATIC is the term for not feeling the AFIB.
... now... I have sleep apnea, asymptomatic persistent AFIB, and was diagnosed this year. I am struggling with the same question. My EP says rate contol and Pradaxa is the best way to go (conservative approach). I am 62. If you are young, symptomatic, paroxymal, no other heart issues, no untreated sleep apnea, normal atrial size... you are the model candidate. None of these factors alone knocks you out of the candidate pool, except maybe for untreated sleep apnea. They just lower the % that are cured first time with ablation. You might need a second or third ablation. Places like Cleveland Clinic, Austin there's a place, Bordeaux France (sorry I don't have the exact names but you can Google them), and others specialize in persistent afib. Success rates are affected by WHO does the ablation and what center and method used. The procedure is evolving. There many opinions in the medical community on the subject and everyone responds differently. We all should have waited a few years before we got AFIB.

I could have written LorrieO's comment. I am so glad for you that your ablation is working the first time.

I had an ablation in March and the AF is back. I will be glad when I can get off the meds. I will be seeing my EP next week and see what the next step will be.

Fortunately I don't have to go far. I live in northern California and my EP at my local hospital has been trained in many of the top hospitals on the latest techniques and has great reputation for success. He is chinese and does not have a warm and fuzzy manner, but both doctors and nurses praise his technical skills, and that's what I look for.

Take care, Joan

Cardioversions are a complete waste of everyone's time. I had one that lasted until I got to the parking lot. However they have a new ablation where they freeze parts of your heart (I think its a cryoablation) that seems to be really stopping afib. I take my meds to lower my beat and of course coumadin/warfarin and I feel fine. I have a CPAP for sleep apnea that has done more for me than anything else. I sleep so well with it that I feel energetic during the day like I did 20 years ago. Go to a sleep clinic and get a CPAP. It like a miracle. Good luck!

I had ablation almost 2 years ago, and except for some blips I am fine. I went straight to ablation right away, no meds first. My choice, I wanted to move right ahead. I do not regret it.

Technically, the reason it "doesn't work" or doesn't last long is that the EP doesn't hit enough spots the first time. The second ablation, if needed, is to get the spots missed. A sort of touch up. That's why you need a very good EP even if it means traveling out of town to a top medical center or it (generally you only need to be out of town for two or three days. It's not very debilitating)
Goog luck!

The sooner you are able to have an ablation, the more successful it is. I have been told that the longer you have AF, the more spots you create. For reasons out of my hands, I did not have my ablation until I had AF for 3 years. Needless to say, some of the spots were missed.