Patent ID: 8185202
Filing Date: 2012-05-22
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
1. A medical device, comprising: a plurality of electrodes electrically coupled to a heart; a pulse generator coupled to the plurality of electrodes and configured to sense cardiac activity and deliver pacing pulses to a heart using at least some of the plurality of electrodes; a transthoracic impedance sensor configured to sense a transthoracic impedance signal; and a control circuit coupled to the pulse generator and the transthoracic impedance sensor, the control circuit configured to detect a breathing event based on a temporal association between pacing pulse delivery during a non-refractory period of the heart and a perturbation in the transthoracic impedance signal, the control circuit further configured to verify that the detected breathing event is representative of phrenic nerve stimulation resulting from pacing pulse delivery based on detection of an additional perturbation in the transthoracic impedance signal that is temporally associated with an additional pacing pulse delivered during a cardiac refractory period of the heart.