Any reason to think that the a-fib might have been caused by circumstances or lifestyle factors that no longer persist, e.g., alcohol use, obesity, work stress, life stress, pericarditis, other bacterial infection, etc.?

want an ablation .Some people are o.k.with staying in afib! Is it very bothersome for you? My Dr. Says he is comfortable with me in a-fib I just wonder if it could be dangerous? He is trying to keep my h.r. under 100. I am on carvedilol for this and b.p. I used to be able to take my pulse and could tell if I was in a-fib and how fast my h.t. was but not so much any more! All scary to me. I see Dr. On June 11th. Don't want an ablation for sure. Good luck, SEAN' Keep in touch, please.

Was reading tweets from the afib conference in Boston last week. Some EPs noted that atrial fibrosis is an indicator for ablation success. Sooner is better.

I can only speak for myself as every ones situation is different. i had an ablation March the 2nd of this year, I had one short episode of a fib in the second week after, but feel great ever since. I was very nervous about having it done, it was not bad at all and I have my life back. Hope this will help you. I wish you all the best in whatever you decide.
Best of luck to you.

I'm like Gotfie...had an ablation 3 weeks ago (on 4/29/15) and have felt great since (NSR). I should have had it sooner, because my AFib just recently became persistent. I had a lot of anxiety going into the ablation, so I'm glad it has subsided, which is an added benefit.

Thanks for the replies. Been very busy at work which helps me not to worry about the ablation as much. Its good to read on here that many have had successful ablations. It helps me feel like running a catheter into your heart is a normal everyday occurance!

I still havent had any afib for over two months now but going ahead with ablation next Thursday. Ive tried for a year to figure out what my triggers are. My guess is stress is a main one. I havent been able to pinpoint anything diet related. Im moving ahead with it for a few reasons. One is my meds will probably quit working at some pont based on what I read and getting it taken care of now should make the success rate higher. Plus its nice getting it done while in NSR instead of waiting for it to come back and then waiting months for an ablation. The second is it would be nice to have a chance to get off the meds. While I think I handle the metoprolol and rythmol pretty well, Im starting think its affecting me more than I thought. Im tired a lot and my thinking isnt as sharp as it used to be. I was chalking it up to "old age", but Im starting to think maybe its the meds.

I'm going in for ablation on Monday. I was getting frequent episodes and terrible palpitations fairly regularly before going on rythmol about a year and a half ago. It worked great at first but after 6 months or so I noticed the palps creeping back. Then, about 6 months in, I had an episode of afib.
Had a few minor ones after that; way better than before but I noticed it was getting less effective as time went on.

Then, last March, I started getting burning sensations in my feet that my family doctor thought might be from rythmol. My EP said "no way" but the neurologist shrugged and said it might be. I stopped and the sensations went away after a month or so but my afib came back. Rather than retry rythmol or try flecanide, I opted for ablation.

Sorry, long answer there, but the point is the drugs aren't good for you and it will likely get worse despite them. I'd do it if I were you. In fact, as I said, I'm going to.
Good luck and all the best,

Monty