High resting heart rate averaging 100 bpm

@deniseheart @laughlin1947
I completely agree with you AFIB can really affect the heart rate. I was told many times the ventricles will try to match the atrial.

I have an ICD/Pacemaker for over 20 years. I have been through so many shocks, issues, hospitalization it would take a page just to list them. I just got out of hospital where they were trying to find cause on VTAC.

I do know that my doctors were very attuned to my thyroid. I think @laughlin1947 should asked his doctors to test it as if high. Along with informing all medicines and supplements on. I have done this many times and just went through a visit with pharmacist who when over every medication and supplements I was taking. She had me come of so many supplements I had no idea they were affecting my medications. She also went over times to take and if with food, etc. I learn a lot form that visit which lasted one hour.

Many things can cause a high resting pulse rate and can be a trial and error journey to find the cause.

I've just been looking up normal resting heart rates. Various resources all say a resting HR of between 60 and 100 is normal. However, 100 seems high to me (I'm not a medical professional!) if you are active, not overweight and have no other health issues.

I had an ablation 3 weeks ago, and my resting HR has risen, or at least is unstable. Sitting on the couch the other night, when I would expect a HR of around 60, it was stuck at 109! However, I'm trying to be patient, as this is the "blanking" period after an ablation when the heart is adjusting. I do try breathing and relaxation exercises to bring it down, but that isn't always effective.

@jc76 I am scheduled to get an ICD pacemaker implant in a couple of weeks. Would you be willing to share a little more about your pros/cons with it?
I’m having an av node ablation a month after the implant.

@scoleo70058
Be glad too! Just a warning though I have been known to be wordy so will apologize for long reply. I am not aware of your story about why you are getting a ICD/Pacemaker so will just pass on why I got mine and what were the pro/cons.

Lets start with PROS.
Having a ICD/Pacemaker is like having your own EMS team in your chest. If you need to be shocked to get you back in rhythm it is there to do that and will be within seconds versus waiting for EMS to get there.

The pacemaker is there for other issues. If you have electrical problems like I did the pacemaker takes over and help the heart with correct and sustained electrical pulses. It can also raise your pulse rate (PR) if you have a low PR. Mine was down into 40s because of medications. What my electrophysiologist (EP) told me he was going to adjust it to the level that it helps with PVCs (I was having tons of them at lower pulse rate). We started at 50, then 60, then at 70 PR is started to help with so many PVCs. I have what they call a LBBB.

With a ICD/Pacemaker you have your own EMS on duty 24/7. I have needed them many times which I will state that they only reason I am here typing this is because I have ICD device to bring me back into rhythm. Mine is set up to "pace" me out of VTAC but if not will shock me. I am not going to say (trying to be honest) that it is pleasant thing. Some describe it as minor and a lot of us say dramatic event. But you need to know it has very high rate of successful return to normal rhythm.

CONS: With any surgery you are going to have side affects and the norm of having surgery discomforts. The device procedure is so well improved it is done as an outpatient procedure with going home that day. I always asked for a 24 hour watch stay as quite frankly just want to make every thing is okay and working.

You will not have any pain during procedure. You will have some pain and swelling afterward your EP will go over things to do to minimize that.

There will be limitations of activities and arm movements for many weeks or months. Follow them so you don't have issues with wires or device moving.

Feeling the device. Yes you are going to feel it for awhile and that can cause some mental anxiety. Just know (MY EP) it takes about a year for body to encapsulate the device. When that happens the feel of it being there is drastically reduced. You still need to follow your EP advice on activities and there are some restrictions like phones and electronics devices next to your device.

There may be some raised areas when it is put in. Mine is below my chest muscle (my skin was to thin to put just under skin) so most (except for scar) don't even know if there.

With any surgery there will be some pain afterward and discomfort. I was told to use ice pack to help reduce swelling and reduce discomfort. To be honest I had very little pain but was real careful to not move my arm beyond my instructions. That is a temporary restriction but you still need to be careful as you have device and need to limit some movements (your EP will give you specifics for you) and keeping your device away from direct and very close contact with electrical devices.

So, for me the ICD/Pacemaker has been a life safer. I see it now as a buddy (that is what one poster calls her's) that is there to help me when needed. The pacing by pacemaker has allow me to resume normal activities and have steady pacing versus my own which was having problems. I did change some sports (like tennis as was a very aggressive player) to doing Sprint Triathlons (50 since my procedures).

So, you can see mine has really helped me and for millions of us with the devices it has helped improve your quality of life and that is the bottom line.

My ICD/Pacemaker improved my quality of life and reduce dramatically my mental worry of going into VTAC as I know my personal EMS is there if needed.

Many thanks for your reply! Perhaps my cardiologist will detect an issue, but I don't have an appt yet. I do have a KardioMobile device that I use to check my potential Afib. It consists of a finger pad connected via my iPhone amd the app. So, every time I've checked I never have showed Afib. I drank a lot of water yesterday and got my BPM down to 80 for a few hours. When I woke up and checked it this AM, it was back up to 109 BPM. Ugh!

@jc76
I have afib that was controlled medicinally for roughly a decade. Last November it started acting up and different meds since then have not helped.
Had an ablation in February but started having funky breakthroughs a couple months later. Was scheduled to have a second ablation earlier this month but went into vtach. They attempted to induce another vtach rhythm but could not replicate it so they aborted the ablation and had me get a Zoll Life Vest.
Did you have any experience with a Life Vest?