Hi Jimana,
You are so fit, I am very impressed.. You sound like a strong and healthy person. That really works in your favour. And you want to get rid of the A FIB- What I don't understand is what kind of pacemaker you have. I'll just back up- I have had A Fib as well but it was accompanied by SVT - a rapid heart rate. In order to have a pacemaker I would have to have had my Sinus node ablated which meant that I would be pacemaker dependent. My heart would still beat if the pacemaker failed- at about 20 BPM. The idea is that by ablating the Sinus Node (the headquarters for your heart's electrical system) you essentially have stopped the rapid heartbeat of SVT (up to 220 for me) I didn't go that route and several years later began my journey with ablations. After 4 failed attempts I had a pulmonary vein ablation which cured me. The idea is that the rogue signal starts in one of the pulmonary veins. By ablating ( or burning ) around all the veins and the atria you create scar tissue so that when one of those rogue signals goes off it hits the scar tissue and dissipates. I couldn't be happier with this solution. Most people have success after one or two ablations- I was an anomaly. And that shouldn't discourage you. My only question would be whether or not you are still a candidate for an ablation since you've had a pacemaker. You would have to ask your dr about that. I can understand your fear of being paddled. I have had a lifetime of SVT (I was born with it). And when the episodes necessitated hospital visits I was sometimes told I would have to be cardio converted. I always objected, since I knew that with a verapimal drip, some calm thinking on my part, and a healthy dose of ativan I could convert spontaneously. That was true for me for over 25 years. I hope this helps you and I wish you the best. Try to remember that Afib is not a disease, and can be controlled. Good luck, martishka