Patent ID: 7593773
Filing Date: 2009-09-22
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: operating an implantable medical device with a pacing protocol that utilizes an atrial based pacing mode to sense for intrinsic AV conduction, wherein the pacing mode allows a full cardiac cycle to elapse without ventricular activity and provides coordinated AV timing to deliver a ventricular pacing pulse in a cardiac cycle immediately following the cardiac cycle that is allowed to elapse without ventricular activity while maintaining multiple-beat AV coordination; initiating a conduction check while in a dual chamber pacing mode having an AV interval at a first duration to determine if intrinsic conduction is present, the conduction check including incrementally increasing a duration of the AV interval in the dual chamber pacing mode over subsequent cardiac cycles until a maximum AV interval is reached, then operating in an atrial based pacing mode for one cardiac cycle; operating in the atrial based pacing mode if the conduction check identifies the presence of intrinsic conduction; and operating in the dual chamber pacing mode and at the AV interval of the first duration if no intrinsic conduction is sensed during the one cardiac cycle.