Patent ID: 6205357
Filing Date: 2001-03-20
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
A method of selecting a cardiac therapy to be delivered to a patient's heart for the prevention or treatment of cardiac arrhythmia by an implantable system said method comprising:detecting electrical activity from the heart of said patient;predicting the future onset of a cardiac arrhythmia in said patient from said detected electrical activity;delivering a first therapeutic electrical pulse to the heart of said patient prior to the onset of cardiac arrhythmia; thenmonitoring the effectiveness of said first therapeutic electrical pulse in preventing cardiac arrhythmia from said detected electrical activity;delivering a second therapeutic electrical pulse to the heart of said patient at the onset of cardiac arrhythmia if said first therapeutic electrical pulse is not effective;monitoring the effectiveness of said second therapeutic electrical pulse in treating said cardiac arrhythmia; and thendelivering a third therapeutic electrical pulse to the heart of said patient if said second therapeutic electrical pulse is not effective in treating said arrhythmia, said third therapeutic electrical pulse being a higher energy pulse than said second therapeutic electrical pulse.