Although your problem is not a late recurrence read this whole article.
Having persistent A-fib is more unhealthy that being cardioverted.

Late arrhythmia recurrence after atrial fibrillation ablation: incidence, mechanisms and clinical implications"
But here is an important section: "It is well known that untreated PAF often progresses to persistent AF and ultimately results in acceptance of permanent AF. Therefore, early treatment of PAF is critical to improve long-term outcome [22, 23].

In the majority of patients suffering from PAF catheter ablation results in stable sinus rhythm as shown in long-term follow-up studies [5, 20]. However, most patients need multiple ablation procedures to restore durable sinus rhythm [24, 25]. According to one meta-analysis study, patients suffering from PAF undergoing multiple ablation procedures using RF energy have a long-term success rate of about 80%, whilst success rates for patients undergoing only one ablation procedure is around 53% [24]. Recent data suggest there are several reasons for this significant difference, with pulmonary vein reconnection probably being the most prominent one [26]. Long-term success rates are significantly lower in patients, with persistent AF resulting in only a 20–45% rate of 5‑year arrhythmia-free survival after multiple RFA [13, 27]. The ideal ablation strategy for patients with persistent AF has not yet been identified [21, 27]."