Patent ID: 6671548
Filing Date: 2003-12-30
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
In an implantable stimulation device, a method for discriminating various arrhythmias of a patient's heart, the method comprising the steps of:detecting cardiac events within the heart beginning at an initial point in time; determining a preliminary classification for each cardiac event for a plurality of heart rhythms to establish predetermined classifications; maintaining running totals of the number of cardiac events within each of the predetermined classifications since the initial point in time; maintaining sliding totals of the number of cardiac events within each of the predetermined classifications out of a group of most recent cardiac events; determining whether the sliding total in any one of the predetermined classifications exceeds a corresponding predetermined sliding total threshold and, if so, selectively redistributing the running totals of the predetermined classifications since the initial point in time; and determining whether the redistributed running total in any one of the predetermined classifications exceeds a corresponding predetermined running total threshold and, if so, identifying the patient's heart rhythm as being the heart rhythm corresponding to the predetermined classification in which the predetermined running total threshold was exceeded.