Medical monitoring and treatment device with external pacing

A wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) for applying defibrillating shocks followed by pacing pulses, the WCD comprising:

• a harness wearable about a torso of a patient;
• a plurality of therapy electrodes attached to the harness and configured to apply at least one defibrillating shock to the patient;
• a plurality of sensing electrodes attached to the harness and configured to acquire electrocardiogramaignals indicative of cardiac activity of the patient;
• a therapy delivery interface and associated circuitry;
• a memory storing a plurality of pacing routines, at least one first pacing routine of the plurality of pacing routines configured to control the WCD to apply a plurality of pacing pulses at an anti-tachyarrhythmic pacing rate and at least one second pacing routine of the plurality of pacing routines configured to control the WCD to apply a plurality of pacing pulses at a rate other than the anti-tachyarrhythmic pacing rate;
• and
• at least one processor coupled with the memory, the plurality of sensing electrodes, the therapy delivery interface, and the plurality of therapy electrodes and configured to:
• detect an arrhythmia through the ECG signals acquired via the plurality of sensing electrodes;
• control, in response to detection of the arrhythmia, application of the at least one defibrillating shock via the therapy delivery interface and the plurality of therapy electrodes;
• and
• control, via execution of the first pacing routine, application of the plurality of pacing pulses subsequent to the application of the at least one defibrillating shock.

A method of treating an arrhythmia using a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) by applying defibrillating shocks followed by pacing pulses, the method comprising:

• acquiring electrocardiogram (ECG) signals via a plurality of sensing electrodes attached to a harness and externally disposed about a torso of a patient by the harness;
• detecting an arrhythmia through the ECG signals;
• identifying a pacing routine from a plurality of pacing routines stored in a memory of the WCD, the pacing routine configured to control the WCD to apply a plurality of pacing pulses at an anti-tachyarrhythmic pacing rate;
• applying at least one defibrillating shock via a therapy delivery interface and a plurality of therapy electrodes of the WCD;
• and
• executing the pacing routine to apply the plurality of pacing pulses subsequent to applying the at least one defibrillating shock.