Windy , you have a confirmed diagnosis? You have a recent and acceptable ECG showing the pattern? Any 12 lead ECG readouts when you were in AF? AFAIK, a 12 lead graphic lasting at least 15 seconds that shows any arrythmia will be read properly by a skilled reader (some people are fooled by what they see and they fail to diagnose an arrythmia properly...happens all the time in the medical field, even among cardiologists).

I have stated it, sometimes with blowback from readers, that atrial fibrillation is a progressive disorder. I know of exactly one person who has beaten it into submission, but the daily regimen this guy imposes on himself is rather extreme and very harsh. Even so, he admits that he still gets one or two episodes each year. He watches calcium intake and doses himself with magnesium like they were jelly beans. He says he's a magnesium dumper, so he pours it to himself daily. Literally...pours..drinks a liter of his own concoction each day. Every other person I have encountered on the www describes a progression. So, it's not something you would rather neglect and hope for the better. I admit, like a crybaby, that I was actually on cloud nine leaving my EP's office after our first meeting when he said he'd take a crack at my heart. I was unlucky the first crack, but the second ablation worked and I couldn't be more pleased. A bit heavier than I'd like, okay quite a bit, but it was a hard 18 months. I'm workin' on it...

Lots of folks abhor taking medication. As I admitted to my friends and family once I was formally diagnosed, I went from a smug, fit, and light 65 year old to a pill-poppin', chastened, and humbled wimp. I haven't had so much as a headache since I was 11 years old! I do still have my head of hair though...that counts for something!
But, a pill-in-pocket is often the resort of those who manage to keep their AF under control most of the time. My own cardiologist said I'd be on Eliquis for life, but that was before he referred me to an EP. I'm still on it, begrudgingly, but it might save me from another non-AF stroke that was down the pike for me anyway. Mebbe... I'm now into my seventh years with Eliquis. It is what it is. I'm over it. I am glad to be off of metoprolol because my dose kept rising (that pesky progression, remember?) and it eventually had be bouncing between dangerously low HR at 30 BPM, with ten second pauses at times (!!) and a normal HR above 50.

Also, I'm on a statin because the same cardio was worried about ischemic heart disease when I first went to him. Multiple tests later, including an angiogram, and all my vessels that matter are relatively free from deposits. But, I'm still on the statin, also for life. 🙁

As for finding the right EP, it's like finding the right car or house to buy...you ask, you smell, you listen, and you ask around. I wouldn't rely on those 'rate my MD' sites...they tend to get polluted by people who are PO'd because the MD didn't act as they had wanted. My own EP was the Canadian Cardiology Candidate of the Year in 2002, so not too shabby, but you should see some of the scathing reviews. Yikes!! He was brusque, and quick, no invitations to his next backyard barbecue or anything, but he was a gentleman who was clearly listening to what I told him, and he accepted my Galaxy watch's ECG when I told his office that his first crack at me was a dud (in more refined terms, natch). He called me twice and we had several minutes of conversation during which I didn't get the slightest whiff of his wanting to end the call or hurry me along. Bottom, line, know what you need from him, spell it out in concrete terms to both yourself and to him/her, and then act as your instincts tell you to.

If I have failed to address something you'd like me to comment on, please repeat or add it. I'll do my best.