Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.

David Mason

Anthony J Murphy

David Bassin

Anthony C Stephens

An implantable dual chamber ICD and method senses atrial (A-A) and ventricular (V-V) intervals, calculates the ratio (A/V interval ratio) of A-A intervals to V-V intervals, classifies heart rhythms with V-V intervals (i) above a revert rate threshold as not tachycardia, (ii) below a high rate threshold as treatable tachycardia, (iii) between the two thresholds and below an A-dominant A/V interval ratio threshold as a non-treatable tachycardia, (iv) between the revert rate threshold and the high rate threshold and above a V-dominant threshold as treatable tachycardia and, when the heart rhythm is intermediate all four thresholds, (v) utilizes one or a combination of advanced discriminators (e.g., ventricular windowing, ventricular interval variability, sudden onset, AV-delay creep, ventricular electrogram morphology, active sensing, minute ventilation, or right ventricular pressure) to classify whether the heart rhythm is a non-treatable or a treatable tachycardia.

Heart rhythm classification method, and implantable dual chamber

An apparatus and a method for discriminating between tachycardias of physiological origin, and those of pathological origin having similar atrial and ventricular rates, are disclosed. The apparatus includes two sensing electrodes for registering the electrograms from the atrium and the ventricle of the heart. There is further included a signal processing element for determining the times of atrial and ventricular events, and an algorithm for classifying the heart rhythm. The algorithm includes a means for discriminating between different types of heart rhythms having overlapping ventricular rates and having similar atrial and ventricular rates. The method utilizes an analysis of the relationships between successive atrial and ventricular intervals (i.e., atrial-atrial (AA), ventricular-ventricular (VV) and atrial-ventricular (AV) intervals) in discriminating between such heart rhythms.

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Lane Cove, Australia

David Mason