System and method for heart monitoring

A method of monitoring a transplanted heart, comprising:

• (a) registering a first electrical signal from a patient's heart, the first electrical signal configured as a first series of waveforms comprising at least a portion of a QRS complex of an intracardiac electrogram;
• (b) generating from the first series of waveforms, a reference waveform representative of the average characteristics of the waveforms;
• (c) registering a second electrical signal from a patient's heart subsequent to registering the first electrical signal, the second electrical signal configured as a second series of waveforms comprising at least a portion of a QRS complex of an intracardiac electrogram;
• (d) generating from the second series of waveforms, a registered waveform representative of the average characteristics of the waveforms;
• and
• (e) measuring the difference between at least one element of the registered waveform and a corresponding element of the reference waveform;
• and
• (f) characterizing the difference in a scale of rejection in which a greater degree of difference corresponds to a greater degree of allograft rejection.

A method of monitoring a transplanted heart, comprising:

• (a) during a first data collection session occurring at a reference time, wherein the reference time is when the heart is transplanted into the patient, registering an electrical signal from a patient's heart, the electrical signal configured as a first series of waveforms emitted by the patient's heart that is not in response to an electrical stimulus;
• (b) generating from the first series of waveforms, a reference waveform representative of the average characteristics of the waveforms collected during the first data collection session;
• (c) during a subsequent data collection session occurring at a time subsequent to the reference time, registering an electrical signal from a patient's heart, the electrical signal configured as a second series of waveforms emitted by the patient's heart that is not in response to an electrical stimulus;
• (d) generating from the second series of waveforms, a registered waveform representative of the average characteristics of the waveforms collected during the subsequent data collection session;
• and
• (e) comparing the registered waveform to the reference waveform to determine whether the heart is functioning properly.