Here in Canada, one is lucky to see an electrophysiologist inside of 4 months, and that involves waiting a month or more for any diagnostic workups the EP wants before he/she sees the patient. That's the first visit. Next, if you don't need other remediations first, such as a mitral valve repair/replacement, you'll be at least another four months before you get the ablation (with a 't').

May I assume that this is a whirlwind experience, kinda scary, and maybe you think the whirlwind has more control over your destiny than you have? That's perfectly normal, for almost all of us. We want more information, less speed, less uncertainty....

What you do want to do, though, besides continuing to educate yourself about your condition and the various ways to manage it, is to research for a really top notch electrophysiologist. You want a really good one, even if you have to wait six months to get the best. That person, with 3-5K ablations under their belt, and about whom patients rave, will have the best chance of success with you. I say this because the failure rate of first (or what are properly called 'index') ablations is about 25 %, but with a lot of variance between the best and the so-so electrophysiologists.

I hope you can convince yourself to be pleased that you might be ablated in as little as a few weeks. In Lotus Land, British Columbia, Canada, where I live, it's six-eight months to see an orthopaedic surgeon, and you may have another six months before you get called for the surgery.

Hi vpmusic! I am wondering who you see in Orlando. I now see Dr Parikh at Central Fl cardiology group, and if I need another ablation I will have him do it. He did not do the first four. Amiodorone is a strong med for the first try, but of course if you trust your doc then I would do as they say. Ablation does seem like a very fast decision, from my personal experience looking back I wish I had known ablation is not always a one and done deal, it certainly started me on a different path. I’m still on meds after 4, and ironically did the first one to get off medication! It’s a tricky situation, I am sorry you are going through this! Let me know what you do, maybe a second opinion would be an option?

Thought I would share that as a 68-year-old female I had my first identified episode of a-fib on 10/12/22. After a night in ED and then the hospital, a Diltiazem drip got me back in NSR. Before release I spoke with the attending cardiologist for about 5 minutes and essentially had to decide between managing the a-fib with meds or seeing an EP to have an ablation. She felt I was a good candidate for an ablation, and I didn't really want to be on long term meds, so I chose the ablation option. Based on that, she sent me home on Diltiazem, Eliquis and a loading dose of Amiodarone which then went down to 200mg daily. My ablation was on 2/14/23, so not quite as soon as you have been scheduled, but the decision to have it was very quick. The procedure went well and 3 months later I was able to go off the Diltiazem and Amiodarone. I now take Eliquis and am fortunate to have remained in NSR going into my second year since the ablation. As many have posted on this site, the decision of how to manage a-fib is unique to each person. You need to do as much research as possible and trust your feelings and the physicians that you choose to help you decide. The vast amount of knowledge and the experiences of those who post here is also extremely helpful and can be very reassuring as you manage this condition. I wish you all the best as you go forward.