Hi All:
i was just curious, and I know everyone is different, what are the odds of AF progressing to a permanent status? I have had an ablation and I am currently blanking. Only had one 5 hour run. Still on cardizem and metropolol and Eliquis. I rarely even have PACs anymore. I’m 39, and otherwise healthy as can be.
When I am in AF, it is particularly awful. I get mad and kind of pace around in circles. My greatest fear is being stuck like this with permanent AF. Thoughts?
In primary AF, in younger people who have had an ablation, I suspect progression to persistent AF will be almost inevitable in the very long term without further intervention. New approaches to prevention and management seem likely.
Don't think it's inevitable Oyster- success rates for ablation are very high with young people and it depends why AF started in the first place.
Hi Amurray 
who knows we are all different, look on the positive side you are young and the ablation might be all you need to stay AF free for the foreseeable future...
In your position I would give the ablation a helping hand by making sure I ate healthily /keep your weight down/minimum or no alcohol / regular exercise /avoid stress / plenty of sleep.
Good luck
Consultants who have spoken to our support group say ablation is much more successful in the young as your heart lining is much smoother. Make sure you eat potassium rich food and keep a healthy weight, don't have caffeine or alcohol and keep well hydrated, and you will have as best a chance as possible. I have done these things and have gone for 1-3 years without an episode and am much much older than you! Also don't over exercise as this can cause thickening of wall of atrium and then AF- this reverses itself when over exercising is stopped ( in same way muscle builders will lose muscle if they stop going to gym etc
Did you have an ablation?
No, I was offered one but felt it was best to try the other things I have mentioned. I noticed my potassium level was below range on two occasions when my AF warranted a visit to A and E. By increasing Potassium in food, (not supplements which can be dangerous with Potassium) I went directly from episodes every few weeks to nothing for 3 years and last one just over a year ago. One consultant said I should take a Magnesium supplement (GP prescribes) as I was having extra potassium in food, so I do that too.It's important to keep your BP down as that can affect AF.I started AF 6 years ago. I think the outlook should be better for you as you are young, as much of AF is related to age. Also you have the opportunity to address all the life style factors mentioned. We had a talk in our group about a poor country where people's BMIs are below what would be thought healthy here and AF is unknown in that country. I suspect meat is rare there too. Also, in the USA, one EP has now stopped doing Ablation and concentrates on life style/dietary changes, and has achieved excellent results with patients - either they have stopped AF altogether or have much reduced frequency. There is a lot you can do yourself- don't worry too much- your ablation will have blocked the main pathways for the electrical signals you may have a little AF breaking through which may require a touch up job or you may find everything stops. Your heart will now have time to recover from the episodes you have had .
If you are interested in the Potassium suggestion, salmon, bananas, green veg etc are allgood but the easiest to manage , as you need about 4,500mg a day, is jacket potato as it has 1000mg, so nearly a quarter!
Vita Coco brand of coconut water is also good ( some other brands don't have as much potassium) It is a bit expensive but you can usually get it on offer if you look at all the different supermarkets and bulk buy!! Good luck and stay well
I would agree with some of the others, age, lifestyle and health factors are big contributions to long term ablation success. I'm in a similar position, I'm 41 and only been diagnosed for 2yrs but suffered about 4-5yrs. I'm about to start with my first ablation in new year, and I have been thinking about similar factors: with the main one to loose 3 or 4 stones this year, to enable me in a stronger success. Good luck to you for the future
Live for today. You cannot totally predict tommorrow, so there is no point stressing about it particularly as the stress won't help and will bring on faster any problems with a fib. Do what you can, what you are able, what you want to do healthier and enjoy life.
If a fib comes back deal with it then.
Permanent AF appears to be much milder - As though the heart 'gets used to the AF', so, should it happen, it will probably be much less of a problem than you imagine. However it sounds as though your fear is driving the AF. AF is often brought on by adrenaline - which is promoted by fear, so finding ways to calm yourself and banish the fears could lead to a much less AF-stressed life. There have been many posts on here about ways to do that eg 'mindfulness'.
I have had permanent AF for a long time now. I have had valves renewed, cardioversions and an ablation. my heart is regularly irregular, The ecg's show that the gap between my heartbeats varies very slightly, just enough to cause chaos on the electronic blood pressure machines.
My weight is just inside my BMI so bit of work to do to get rid of the Xmas pud, I walk regularly , dance a bit and sing (allegedly). I am 73. So relax , be active and enjoy life - you are still young ,have quite a few places to go and lots bit of living to do
I did when I first had it. Looking back I had a stressful job, lots of activity, polishing off red wine , putting on weight, but not much regular gentle physical exercise, ( like Nordic walking) so if I could go back that would be the first thing I would change, then lose the weight and dump the drink.
Now I hardly feel it all unless I try and scamper up a hill or something similar. Most days I don't notice I have it.
When I was young I was immortal, lots car crashes - Oh look another fence going over the car - you have gone and parked upside down in the ditch, on the wrong side of the road - again - cleared the fence nicely though;, I am very wary who I get into cars with these days.
Falling off rock climbs - there was a nice big chunk of rock there last time I climbed this--aargh, 50 mile walks with bags over lots of mountains, followed by lots of liquid refreshment.
So I got married, settled down, had 3 children , mortgage and lots of sedentary work and
slowly but surely my fitness slipped away without me realising it. So I hade the procedures, did the recovery exercises, lost the drink and the weight, got a fitbit and walk nearly every day and now I feel my quality of life (and life expectancy)is many case better than that a lot of my friends
Undecided on 3rd ablation 
Avoiding permanent atrial fibrillation: treatment approaches to prevent disease progression.
Ablation tomorrow 
AV Node Ablation
