Method and apparatus for reduction of pain from electric shock therapies

Abstract

A method and apparatus for pretreating a patient prior to a therapeutic painful stimulus, comprising the application of pain inhibiting stimuli to a patient prior to an application of the therapeutic painful stimulus. Applying pain inhibiting stimuli comprises the steps of sensing a need for the therapeutic painful stimulus, preparing to deliver the pain inhibiting stimuli to the patient prior to applying the therapeutic painful stimulus, and delivering the pain inhibiting stimuli to the patient prior to applying the therapeutic painful stimulus. The method and apparatus are embodied in modern, fully automatic, fully implantable, single or dual chamber atrial or ventricular cardioverter-defibrillators. The pain inhibiting prepulse method is intended primarily for use in conscious patients but may also be used in sleeping patients.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.