What treatments are available for atrial fibrillation which do not
involve prescription medications or invasive techniques such as
ablation?

Hi Katie25,

It appears that the main treatments for atrial fibrillation (a type of
arrythmia) are drug and/or surgical in nature (including ablation and
pacemaker installation).  I've also found that electrical shock to
correct the heart's rhythm (cardioversion) is sometimes used.  The
Mayo Clinic strongly suggests controlling AF with diet and exercise
(cut out caffeine and alcohol, cut back on salty and fatty foods, quit
smoking, manage your blood pressure, exercise).

Here are some online resources:

MayoClinic: Atrial Fibrillation
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=F553CA62-FA20-4C2B-97C29F6EAF1F81EC&dsection=1

MedlinePlus Tutorial: Atrial Fibrillation
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/atrialfibrillation.html
This has some good information on cardioversion techniques, including electroshock.

All of the currently recruiting clinical trials for AF treatments are
drug or surgical in nature:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/action/FindCondition?ui=D001281&recruiting=true

The above three sites were found in the MedlinePlus health topic for
Arryhthmia: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/arrhythmia.html

In addition, I found some case reports in the medical literature that
indicate that massage and acupuncture may be useful for patients with
AF.  These articles were found in PubMed (www.pubmed.gov) and can be
retrieved at your local medical or academic library:

1:  Celentano A, Palmieri V, Zulati P, Di Minno G. 
 Isolated episodes of atrial fibrillation and acupuncture.
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2003 Jun;13(3):183-4. No abstract available. 
PMID: 12955800 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

2:  Bollmann A, Wodarz K, Esperer HD, Toepffer I, Klein HU. 
 Response of atrial fibrillatory activity to carotid sinus massage in patients
with atrial fibrillation.
Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2001 Sep;24(9 Pt 1):1363-8. 
PMID: 11584458 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

3:  Kirchhof CJ, Gorgels AP, Wellens HJ. 
 Carotid sinus massage as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for atrial
flutter-fibrillation.
Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 1998 Jun;21(6):1319-21. 
PMID: 9633079 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

4:  Curtis M. 
 The use of massage in restoring cardiac rhythm.
Nurs Times. 1994 Sep 21-27;90(38):36-7. 
PMID: 7971330 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I think Pink is on a good tack with the recommendation of biofeedback
as a means to reduce stress (and thus lower the risk of AF).  The
WebMD article on atrial fibrillation suggests biofeedback, yoga, and
massage as stress-management options to help with flutters:
http://my.webmd.com/hw/heart_disease/aa16209.asp.  That site also has
a brief article on cardioversion:
http://my.webmd.com/hw/heart_disease/aa16265.asp.  Note that the
alternative/complementary options of biofeedback, etc. are really
considered "management" options rather than "treatment" ones.

Please let me know if there's something I can clarify for you,
otherwise, good luck!

- Librariankt

How about biofeedback?

"Has anyone shown biofeedback to be effective in managing atrial
flutter/fibrillation?

This has not yet been shown with any degree of certainty but there are
reasons to suspect that conditions like atrial fibrillation may
respond well to biofeedback or even meditation. In some patients,
atrial flutter/fibrillation are due to increases in stress. Ways to
reduce this stress can eliminate atrial fibrillation. This will not
work for everyone of course, but some people will have atrial
fibrillation when they are overactive, with alcohol, playing sports
and others will have it even after eating a big meal or with no
potential cause. Some people have atrial fibrillation due to
underlying heart problems. People who would benefit most, I suspect,
would be those who have a normal heart and have short-lived episodes
of atrial fibrillation."

http://www.vh.org/adult/patient/internalmedicine/faq/cardiacarrest.html