Atrial nerve stimulation with ventricular pacing
AssigneeMedtronic, Inc.
InventorsVinayakrishnan Rajan, Richard N.M. Cornelussen, Berthold Stegemann, Lilian Kornet
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An implantable medical device senses atrial depolarizations having associated refractory periods thereafter and delivers electrical stimulation pulses during the associated refractory periods to stimulate the atrioventricular (AV) node to cause a prolonged conduction time of an atrial depolarization to a ventricular chamber. The device delivers a pacing pulse to a first ventricular chamber during the prolonged conduction time to cause a contraction and associated refractory period of the first ventricular chamber, the first ventricular chamber contraction occurring earlier than a contraction of a second ventricular chamber.
Claims19
A method for stimulating a patient's heart, comprising:
- sensing atrial depolarizations having associated refractory periods thereafter;
- delivering electrical stimulation pulses during the associated refractory periods to stimulate the atrioventricular (AV) node to cause a prolonged conduction time of the sensed atrial depolarizations to a ventricular chamber;
- delivering a pacing pulse to a first ventricular chamber during the prolonged conduction time to cause a contraction and associated refractory period of the first ventricular chamber, the first ventricular chamber contraction occurring prior to a contraction of a second ventricular chamber.
An implantable medical device for stimulating a patient's heart, comprising:
- at least one pair of electrodes for sensing atrial depolarizations having associated refractory periods thereafter;
- sensing circuitry coupled to the sensing electrodes;
- a plurality of therapy delivery electrodes for delivering AV node stimulation pulses and for delivering ventricular pacing pulses;
- therapy delivery circuitry coupled to the therapy delivery electrodes;
- and
- a control processor coupled to the sensing circuitry and the therapy delivery circuitry for controlling a cardiac stimulation therapy comprising delivering electrical stimulation pulses during the associated refractory periods to stimulate the atrioventricular (AV) node to cause a prolonged conduction time of the sensed atrial depolarizations to a ventricular chamber and delivering a pacing pulse to a first ventricular chamber during the prolonged conduction time to cause a contraction and associated refractory period of the first ventricular chamber, the first ventricular chamber contraction occurring prior to a contraction of a second ventricular chamber.
A computer-readable medium storing instructions which cause an implantable medical device to perform a method comprising:
- sensing atrial depolarizations having associated refractory periods thereafter;
- delivering electrical stimulation pulses during the associated refractory periods to stimulate the atrioventricular (AV) node to cause a prolonged conduction time of the sensed atrial depolarizations to a ventricular chamber;
- delivering a pacing pulse to a first ventricular chamber during the prolonged conduction time to cause a contraction and associated refractory period of the first ventricular chamber, the first ventricular chamber contraction occurring earlier than a contraction of a second ventricular chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.