Patent ID: 6085116
Filing Date: 2000-07-04
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
A method of treating a heart in need of atrial defibrillation comprising the steps of:(a) determining an atrial fibrillation cycle length (AFCL) of a heart suffering from a fibrillating atrium; and(b) positioning a plurality of defibrillation electrodes in said atrium;(c) sequentially delivering a plurality of pulses of electrical current to a single atrial site being a low potential gradient region of atrial tissue at a constant pulse-to-pulse interval rate selected to be a percentage value of said AFCL effective to defibrillate said atrium;(d) determining whether atrial defibrillation is achieved; and(e) where atrial defibrillation is not determined in step (d), repeating steps (a), (b) and (c) one or more times until atrial defibrillation is achieved.