I have permanent atrial Fib - 24/7, ever since an aortic valve replacement when I was 49 (I'm now 77) and I'm doing just fine. I take a few meds; to slow down the heart rate a bit; for my blood pressure; and of course Warfarin. I've had an ablation some 20 years ago which didn't work. Sometimes the fear and anxiety about a problem is worse than the actual problem!

Like you, I was having very frequent episodes of AFIB, so my cardiology team recommended an ablation. Also like you, I highly recommend it. For two years and 3 weeks, I was free from AFIB episodes! (But NOT "cured" as I have been told AFIB is NOT "curable," but "treatable.") Two weeks ago, I had an episode that lasted about one hour. I contacted my cardiologist the next day and he was quite reassuring and said I should just monitor myself. He mentioned putting me on a ZIO patch and I assumed he said that we'd do that if the episodes continued. Last night, almost exactly 2 weeks from my "first" episode, I had another one which lasted about an hour. I will be informing him of that episode today. You said that after your ablation, the frequency of your episodes of your AFIB was much less, which lead me to believe you were STILL experiencing SOME episodes but much less frequently. I am wondering what your team thinks about this. Have they discussed a second ablation to map out any areas they may have missed during the first one? What have they recommended you do about the ongoing, if infrequent, episodes? Being free of AFIB for those two years was such a joy, I really HAD gotten my life back.....the two recent episodes have left me depressed and very anxious. I am not afraid of having another ablation if my cardiology team deems that best, but I am extremely interested in knowing what your doctors think about the infrequent episodes you have. I hope I have stated my problem well.