Well...yes.....for every one of us....even if we DON'T have AF. Seriously, and I'm not being cute here, every single living soul could die on the operating table. That's why we don't operate unless the cost-benefit says do it. For AF sufferers, especially those of us who'd like to keep our myocardium healthy and to avoid those nasty symptoms, yes, pleeeeze!!
On a more philosophical bent, you won't know if it happens....will ya. And those left behind, while disappointed and left to grieve, they will understand, especially if they also understand the risks involved....which are exceedingly few.
I have had three operations where a catheter was inserted....an angiogram (into the wrist and on up to the heart), and two ablations because the first failed. Ablations have a 25% failure rate for first, or 'index', ablations. Happened to me. The second has me in NSR (normal sinus rhythm) for just over 2 years now. Bliss!
The very worst part about an ablation? Having to lie still for three hours with a compression weight on the incision at your groin. It might seem interminable unless you're happy in your own head or manage to nod off....again! At least, that was what I found...the wait before I could go home seemed long.