A defibrillator and/or pacemaker is the last thing they would consider in my personal situation. Besides being bothersome and reducing your heart output, AFib is not usually life threatening, as long as you can control your heart rate adequately with meds, such as a beta blocker or digoxin.
You have to be clear as to whether or not it is atrial fibrillation or ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation IS immediately life threatening, as it stops almost all heart output immediately and is one of the most common reasons for inserting a defibrillator/pacemaker. My brother in law has a ventricular defibrillator, and when that thing goes off, it is like a kick in the chest by a horse.
DnvrFox-Is ablation where they use electrical impulses to "correct" the electrical circuitry/signals to the heart (not sure I've properly described it).
Sort of. They use RF (Radio Frequency) energy to heat the offending area to kill the tissue sending out the wrong signals. One common procedure is the PVI, done with a catheter inserted in the leg going into the Pulmonary Vein in the heart area. Another, less common, is open heart surgery where they do a Maze. It is now possible to do a modified Maze with RF. There is also cryogenic (cold killing the tissue) which is in investigatory phase.