Patent ID: 6076014
Filing Date: 2000-06-13
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
An implantable medical interventional device having means for selectively supplying a plurality of therapeutic regimens to alleviate various ones of a plurality of cardiac rhythm disorders, including ventricular defibrillator means responsive to ventricular fibrillation of a patient's heart for defibrillating the ventricles of the heart, and an improvement to enhance recognition, discrimination and therapeutic treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders, said improvement comprising:artificial pacing means for pacing the patient's heart including continuous sensing and responsive pacing of cardiac activity of both the atrial and ventricular chambers for monitoring the status of cardiac activity of the atrial and ventricular chambers and for maintaining atrioventricular synchrony of the patient's heart, andevaluation means operatively combining the artificial pacing means and the ventricular defibrillator means, for determining the existence of a particular rhythm disorder to identify and treat said particular rhythm disorder, said evaluation means including logic means responsive to signals developed by said atrial and ventricular sensing for comparing the atrial and ventricular signals to diagnose when the comparison is indicative of a cardiac rhythm disorder being experienced by the patient and based on said indication to prescribe an appropriate one of said plurality of therapeutic regimens to alleviate the diagnosed rhythm disorder.