You're kidding yourself if you've got afib and want to be active or just not die. I went 2-3 years in my mid 60's on metoprolol and a blood thinner. It was like having a speed limiter on my heart and if I crashed the blood thinner could have killed me. I had cardiac ablation surgery at the best hospital my wife and I could identify in our state (New Mexico), it went great, I recovered quickly and haven't had any issues at all in the last 10 years. At 73 last year I did a couple of extremely difficult gravel events at between 7k and 9k feet and other than wishing I'd prepared better, I had zero issues. I hike and ski at between 5k and 12k feet. My wife has a BS in Pharmacy, an MS in drug information science, a Pharm D, was the top clinical pharmacist in her Pharm D class and was invited to be an associate clinical professor after she graduated. When I had the procedure, she was a clinical pharmacist at the local hospital and had a detailed understanding of the issues associated with the drugs I had been on. Again, if you think that you are "managing" afib you're kidding yourself. Don't take advice from anyone other than a highly qualified cardiologist.

I got a Tickrfit so I could monitor my HR zones, then got a pacemaker, then got an afib diagnosis with beta blocker and anti-coagulant. Luckily, I only know I'm in afib from the HR monitor, although I'm occasionally aware while it happens.

IDK what the HRM does for me. If I'm symptomatic, I need to stop what I'm doing and start figuring out how I'm going to get help if my heart doesn't slow down. If I'm unaware it's going on, it eventually slows down, and Garmin congratulates me for getting my heart rate up.

If I don't stay asymptomatic, I'll hope ablation will work.

Heartrate is always my problem when I have an attack.
It goes crazy up over 200, and usually I end up in the ER.
One time they had to give me a drug that flatllined me for a second to reset the heart.
I hope all goes well for you, and you get your ablation.

YES, and more, even a stroke.

Did he play with his meds? NO!
Did he stop ridding? NO!

Did he follow his docs instruction? YES!
Did he modify his ride? YES!

To be sure he is a really tough bastard. Retired combat veteran, US Army SF and other things. I only found out about his issues after the fact. So what did he do? He shortened his ride. He stopped heavy lifting at the gym, monitored his heart rate and rhythm, and took all his meds. He also updated his Wills and Directives. Like many of us he is a survivor. Its good that you ask what others have done in this process of life. There is one other thing he does that can be a real challenge.

He does not whine about it!

(Wish I was that strong.)

For two years ago a had some unusual heart rhythm issues.
Extra beats, heart rate wouldn't drop to normal levels after the effort would end.
After the ride ended I had extra beats, but after a few hours the heart rate would be normal.
In 2024 I went on a 200kl brevet with 2600m climbing that I couldn't complete.
The uphill that I usually do without stopping I was forced to stop 5-7 times on that particular Brevet.
As soon as I started my pulse would go up to 130 bpm and stay there no matter what the effort was.
Eventually, even on the flats I had to frequently stop. I abandoned the brevet at 120k.
I continued to have these occasional arrythmias, but my efforts on uphill were more or less the same. Resting pulse was at 52 bpm.
Every year in December I would go to my cardiologist ECG and ultrasound. No Afib was detected.
In June 2025 my resting pulse increased to 72 bpm from 52, and on the flats with a usual pulse of 100-105 bpm it increased to 125 bpm constant. On the uphill my pulse would increase to
40-150 bpm, but when the effort ended the rate would drop only to 125 bpm and stay there.
I went to my cardiologist and the ECG showed Afib.
He put me on a beta blocker and anticoagulant, and then I did a cardioversion that lasted 2 days.
Then I started the flecainide 100mg twice a day, and stopped the beta-blocker which was reducing my resting pulse below 50 bpm.
Since then I have not had any Afib, and my resting pulse is back to normal 52 bpm.
I am riding medium to hard (Z4) on the uphill sections, and normalized power has not dropped in the last 6 months.
However, I cannot raise my heart rate above 145-150 bpm, and at 140 bpm the effort seams much more than it use to be.
My pulse drops to normal levels of 80 bpm when the effort is completed.
The cardiologist recommended that I should stay on flecainide 100mg twice a day and the anticoagulant since it seems to be working.
All the above history is to lead up to the following visit I had recently with the electrocargiologist.
None of the cardiologists had mentioned anything about a pacemaker.
Recently, I went to an electrocargiologist and he said that if I stayed on flecainide after 5 years I would definitely need a pacemaker. Since I am in good shape he wouldn't recommend going down that path.
Instead, he recommended halving the flecainide, and see what happens. If the Afib does not return try eliminating it completely. If the Afib returns which there is a high possibility as the age increases an ablation would be a better choice.

Many anti-arrhythmic medications have a rate-limiting effect on the heart, preventing heart rate from increasing. Ask your cardiologist if flecainide can do that, which may explain why your heart rate doesn't go above 140 anymore.

Chronotropic incompetence (CI), broadly defined as the inability of the heart to increase its rate commensurate with increased activity or demand
The flecainide does reduce your pulse rate, but, it seems to be less than beta blockers

Currently taking amiodarone and metoprolol. Haven't been on a bike, but walking, even up a steep (~35%) hill only get to a pulse of 104.

Beware of Amiodarone side effects
Amiodarone Side Effects: Common, Severe, Long Term

Ablation will probably work, but it might only be temporary as was my case. It lasted a couple of years, I had another and that lasted a few years.

I've had two AFIBs. In June of 2022 & 2023. The first one just felt like a hollow feeling in my chest. At age 76 I thought I should be careful and go to the ER. After being there a bit the ER Doc said, "You came here with an AFIB and stopped it in 8 minutes. How'd you do that?" I told him that I just went into my Yoga/Navy
Seal breathing technique. Later I saw online that this breathing technique is one of the things that can help. The other is exercise. This is what I saw on the web not my medical advice. The second one was more typically the heart out of rhythm. On that occasion they gave me Diltiazem IV to resolve the issue and kept me there for 3 nights. This was because they put me through every test there is. I did well on all of them. But, now I have a Cardiologist that I see every 6 months. I have not had a recurrence. I am on Diltiazem and Eliquis daily. I have no side effects and do whatever I want. I am now 79. I go to the gym and lift 4 times a week. I have been off the bike all season but that was because I had inguinal hernia surgery. But, I just did a 3-day motorcycle trip on my Triumph Street Triple with my moto group. I offer this as an example of what is possible. If I were you I'd talk to a Cardiologist about exercise and other treatment options. Best of luck.