Atrial fibrillation treatment

Treatment depends on the severity and frequency of symptoms and the existence or not of disease associated cardiovascular Your goal is to try to restore the normal heart rhythm (sinus rhythm): 

Cardioversion: Procedure to correct the arrhythmia and recover the normal rhythm of the heart. It can be done through antiarrhythmic drugs (pharmacological cardioversion) or, if they do not take effect, by electric shocks with a defibrillator (electric cardioversion).
This last procedure requires general anesthesia and the taking of anticoagulant drugs before and after its application. Correct the situations that cause this arrhythmia (hypertension, Heart Failure ...) and control the risk factors.

Ablation: A technique that consists of electrically isolating the pulmonary veins (where arrhythmia is born). To reach them, a catheter is inserted
through the groin area (femoral vein) to the heart. Once there an electric current is generated that allows consecutive burns around
of the pulmonary veins, being isolated or disconnected. It is performed with local anesthesia and sedation.

Antiarrhythmic Drugs: They are classified into two types: those that try to return their normal rhythm to the heart and those that decrease the heart rate
during the arrhythmia episodes. Its use is limited, due to its intermediate efficacy, aggravation of arrhythmia or toxicity and its tolerability. They can have side effects: heart rate too slow, fatigue, dizziness and / or loss of consciousness.