@jc76 I can only answer for myself. My nature has always been one of inquisitiveness, or curiosity. We had an older gentleman friend of my parents back in the early 60's who, when he would see my parents out 'n about, would ask, 'Where's How Come?' It was my calling card. I would pepper all grownups with, 'How come?' I read. All day long. Research, cross-referencing, looking for contradictions, looking for shared information that seems legit, and then formulate a file of knowledge. Fortunately, at 73, I'm not so rigid that I can't be made to either shut up or to change my mind. 😀

I have to know all I can to make decisions that don't complicate my life..............or ruin it. When I developed AF eight years ago, I began to read. I still read. I strive for consistent, reliable, and veridical information. I can't just read one NIH or JAMA article and be satisfied that this is the Great Truth. God knows that the medical community has all kinds in it, and they don't all agree on everything. So you hafta pay attention to changes in the winds....by reading multiple sources.

So, you ask what others do? I pace. I read. I talk it out. And once I understood the AF science, its mechanisms, and what ablation can possibly do if done well, it became my one solid hope, and I began to push for it. It took two ablations, same gentleman surgeon, before he nipped the AF, and I am happily about to go into my 38th month in blissful and consistent NSR (normal sinus rhythm). As a patient who was horribly symptomatic, I got little relief from cardioversions and never was prescribed AADs (anti-arrhythmic drugs), and living while in AF, which was coming on more and more frequently, lasting many hours, was horrible.

You can also experiment. With diet, with forms of exercise, with Vagal tone modification, improved sleep, ruling out obstructive OR central sleep apnea (and for God's sake get on that right away if it's a problem...it just increases your slide toward dementia and further heart deterioration!), etc. IOW, put your mind to work at finding relief for yourself. Knowledge is power, and you'll be able to relax more knowing................stuff. Especially when what you learn matches what your cardiologist and EP propose for you.