Loading patent…
AssigneePacesetter, Inc.
InventorsEuljoon Park, Gene A. Bornzin, Joseph J. Florio, John W. Poore, Laurence S. Sloman, Peter Boileau, Douglas T. Kurschinski
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for reducing the incidence of atrial arrhythmias by using an overdrive algorithm to determine the application of overdrive stimulation pulses to a patient's heart, e.g., in the atria. In a first aspect of the invention, the apparatus first determines an overdrive pacing rate and then applies pairs of temporally spaced (staggered) pacing pulses, i.e., primary and secondary pacing pulses, at the determined overdrive pacing rate. In a further aspect of the invention, the pairs of pacing pulses are applied at the overdrive pacing rate to multiple spatially spaced electrodes, i.e., electrodes distributed among multiple sites in a patient's heart, e.g., in the atria. In accordance with a first preferred embodiment, the electrodes may be distributed within a single atrium, e.g., the right atrium, of the patient's heart. Alternatively, a first electrode may be placed in the right atrium and a second electrode may be placed in the coronary sinus or the left atrium or multiple electrodes may be placed proximate to the left atrium. Furthermore, the invention relates to techniques for controlling overdrive pacing to multiple sites in a patient's heart so as to achieve and maintain a target degree of pacing and thus suppress tachycardias.
An implantable cardiac stimulation device configured for overdrive pacing a patient's heart via at least one electrode implanted in the patient's heart, the device comprising:
A method for controlling overdrive pacing of a patient's heart using an implantable cardiac stimulation device connected to an electrode implanted in a patient's heart, the method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.