How effective is cardioversion in helping af?

Can be very: Very effective if the af is short or medium duration and the left atrium is less than 4.5cm.

Often first line: It can be very effective, although there in increasing use of and data to support atrial fibrillation ablation as an alternative.

A good start: Cardioversion is a great first step in managing AF. The procedure is generally very low risk and is highly effective at restoring normal rhythm. The hard part is maintaining normal rhythm. The heart tends to want to go back into AF without rhythm controlling medications or elimination of the trigger for AF (such as excess alcohol, uncontrolled blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc.).