YOu have a good question! Make sure your Ep answers it. I failed on 4 drugs, so that is why I had the ablation. I am also symptomatic with a fib. OThers who are asymptomatic don't elect for the ablation.

I have been afib free for as long as I have been on Flecainide ( more than 4 years). I don't know if the surgery would be any benefit, unless Flecainide is somehow changing my heart. I will ask my EP at my annual visit.

You just schooled me on something. I was wondering the same thing. I was just diagnosed 03/31/12 and was told then that if I didn't convert I would be in surgery in the next few days. But it being my first time I assumed it was procedure and was ready to do whatever to fix my heart. The doc made it seem like this was the cure. So I was all for it but I converted and was sent home and now my Cardiologist doesn't think it's needed for my situation, so I have mixed emotions. Why wouldn't he want me to have the "cure" I don't know how they decide but my heart goes out to you (pun intended) and I wish you the best.............

@Heart- if I was asymptomatic I might not do the surgery either. From all of the research I have read and people I talked to I came to the conclusion that the disease progresses. The longer you wait the less likely the ablation will be effective. I am glad my EP is going to do it. My current quality of life is not so great. I had to completely change my lifestyle.
@Steve- That's great Flecainide is working for you! Oh to be afib free!! LOL
@lance- apparently the ablation is the cure but if they were able to convert you and you are asymptomatic then he probably wont do the surgery. But you've only had it for a month. He may think it's too early. I have had it for 7 months. They were able to convert me in about 8 hours with medience. My first cardiologist- the one i got from the hospital- was treating my afib like no big deal. Mean while my quality of life was going down. He told me i could resume all of my normal activities and he put me on an adult aspirin everyday. I couldn't! so I got tired of feeling like he wasn't listening to me and found an EP at a afib seminar.That's where I found out about the guidelines changing in March about using ablation as the first line of treatment instead of using medication. I made and appointment with him a few weeks later. We went over my test and he asked me a few questions about my episodes and how often I was having them. That's when I first found out that I should have been on coumadin from day one because adult aspirin is not enough to thin my blood to help prevent clots. At the end he told I was a good canidate for the ablation.

This is really baffeling. Each Dr. seems to have a different philosophy. I have met several people who have had ablations immediatiately upon diagnosis, and are doing fine today. My Dr. has not mentioned it!

@ Yogacat, I think you should ask him about it! Definitely if your quality of life is going down. If he refuses or don't acknowledge it than find a new doctor.

I have found there is SO much difference in not only the recommendations that the docs give, but also the way each doc does their ablation. YOu can see so many variations on this forum alone.
My regular cardiologist also treated my a fib as no big deal and didn't do anything about it. I wasn't even on any anticoagulant except baby aspirin. EP's seem to treat it more seriously.

make sure you are comfortable with the ablation by talking to your EP if you can.

An ablation can easily cure paroxysmal A-fib, but not persistent A-fib, and definitely has no effect on permanent A-Fib. I wasted my time with the ablation I had for persistent A-Fib...or at least with the EP that did it.