Method and apparatus for discriminating tachycardia events in a medical device

A medical device for detecting a cardiac event and delivering a shock therapy, comprising:

• a plurality of electrodes configured to sense cardiac signals, the plurality of electrodes forming a first sensing vector and a second sensing vector;
• a housing having circuitry positioned therein and electrically coupled to the plurality of electrodes;
• a high voltage shocking capacitor configured to deliver a shock therapy to a patient's heart via electrodes coupled to the medical device;
• and
• a processor positioned within the housing and configured to:
• perform a first processing of a first interval sensed along the first sensing vector during a predetermined sensing window and a second interval simultaneously sensed along the second sensing vector,
• identify the cardiac event as being a shockable event based on the first processing of the first interval and the second interval,
• perform a second processing of the first interval and the second interval, different from the first processing, in response to the cardiac event being identified as a shockable event,
• determine whether to delay a confirmation of the identification of the cardiac event as being shockable based on the second processing of the first interval and the second interval,
• initiate charging of the high voltage shocking capacitor in response to determining not to delay the confirmation of the identification of the cardiac event as being shockable based on to the second processing;
• and
• initiate discharging of the high voltage shocking capacitor to deliver the shock therapy.

A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for causing a processor included in a medical device to perform a method for determining a cardiac event and controlling shock therapy delivery via the medical device, the method comprising:

• sensing cardiac signals from a plurality of electrodes, the plurality of electrodes forming a first sensing vector and a second sensing vector;
• performing a first processing of a first interval sensed along the first sensing vector during a predetermined sensing window and a second interval simultaneously sensed along the second sensing vector;
• identifying the cardiac event as being a shockable event based on the first processing of the first interval and the second interval;
• performing a second processing of the first interval and the second interval, different from the first processing, in response to the cardiac event being identified as a shockable event;
• determining whether to delay a confirmation of the identification of the cardiac event as being shockable based on the second processing of the first interval and the second interval;
• initiating charging of a high voltage shocking capacitor of the medical device configured to deliver the shock therapy in response to determining not to delay the confirmation of the identification of the cardiac event as being shockable based on to the second processing;
• and
• discharging the high voltage shocking capacitor to deliver the shock therapy.