Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.

Pacesetter, Inc.

Other

Dow Corning Corporation

Albert K Dawson

Tibor A Nappholz

Bruce M Steinhaus

Saul E Greenhut

Richard M Lu

William N Hursta

An implantable atrial defibrillator analyzes both the atrium and the ventricle to determine an abnormal atrial condition of the atrium and if the ventricle is unstable. Therapy is applied to correct the abnormal atrial condition, such as atrial fibrillation, only if the ventricle is stable, to insure that the therapy does not provoke a ventricular tachyarrhythmia. If the ventricle is unstable, first a process is performed to stabilize it, for example by using a ventricular pacing protocol. After the ventricle is stabilized, the atrial therapy is applied in synchronism with the ventricular events (i.e., in synchronism with either ventricular intrinsic events or ventricular pacing pulses.)

Pacemaker with safe R-wave synchronization during countershock

An implanted pacemaker senses intrinsic atrial events and generates corresponding pacing pulses. The atrial events are also monitored for a precursor of an atrial fibrillation episode. If such a precursor is detected, the pacemaker generates therapy designed to prevent the atrial fibrillation episode. For example, the atrium and/or the ventricle may be overdriven at a pacing rate above the intrinsic rate.

Apparatus for preventing atrial fibrillation using precursors

The cardiac output of a paced heart is optimized by measuring a parameter indicative of the volume of blood in a heart chamber as a function of a pacing parameter. The pacing parameter is adjusted so that the heart pumps the maximum volume at different rates for hearts with debilitating pathologies. This pacing parameter is then used for controlling the pacing pulses for pacing the heart. Preferably the volume parameter is the paced depolarization integral and the pacing parameter is the A-V delay.

Pacemaker and method having optimized A-V delay by using the evoked

A rate-responsive pacemaker including a pulse generator for providing pacing current pulses at a controlled rate and two unipolar leads are provided. The pulse generator also applies a measuring current between one of the electrodes and a reference point in the pacemaker. The impedance between the other electrode and the reference point is measured across a lung of the patient. The impedance of the patient varies as a function of patient's pleural pressure, and therefore, the impedance thus represents the patient's minute volume. The rate of pacing is automatically adjusted in response to changes in the patient's minute volume.

Minute volume rate-responsive pacemaker using dual unipolar leads

A pacemaker is provided in which ventricular rate instability is detected and automatically corrected by gradually increasing the ventricular pacing rate. Once the ventricle is stabilized, its pacing rate is gradually decreased as much as possible without losing ventricular stability. Ventricular instability can be a result of an atrial tachyrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation. Therefore, if the pacemaker is a dual chamber pacemaker, its operation is switched to a single chamber pacing mode thereby decoupling the ventricular pacing signals from the atrial pacing signals and atrial triggered ventricular pacing is inhibited until the atrial fibrillation terminates.

Apparatus and method for stabilizing the ventricular rate of a heart

A P-wave detector in a single chamber ventricular cardiac pacemaker, which is adapted to perform VDD pacing, senses natural atrial activity in the form of P-waves from a standard lead implanted in the ventricle of the heart. The P-wave detector is electrically coupled to a ventricular sensing lead and, although the electrode of the lead is implanted in the ventricle, circuitry within the pacemaker perceives intrinsic cardiac electrical activity arising from all parts of the heart. The P-wave detector is adapted to differentiate P-wave signals arising within the atrium from other cardiac and non-cardiac signals using template matching techniques in which an acquired signal is compared with a previously stored P-wave template.

Implantable cardiac stimulating apparatus and method employing detection

In an implantable antiarryhythmia pacemaker, an automatic cardiac arrhythmia detection and classification monitoring apparatus and method for measuring stimulated intracardiac electrogram potentials, deriving therefrom a paced depolarization integral (PDI), analyzing time-based changes in the PDI, detecting and classifying harmful cardiac rhythms while distinguishing harmful from benign tachycardias, and automatically establishing and initiating an appropriate therapy, if necessary, to revert the arrhythmia condition.

Apparatus and method for detecting abnormal cardiac rhythms using evoked

An implanted programmable ambulatory electrocardiography (AECG) patient monitoring device that senses and analyzes electrocardiographic signals from at least one subcutaneous precordial sensor chronically and frequently to detect electrocardiogram and physiological signal characteristics predictive of malignant cardiac arrhythmias. The device includes telemetric capabilities to communicate a warning signal to an external device when such arrhythmias are predicted.

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Denver, CO, United States of America

Albert K Dawson