Patent ID: 8380307

Claim:
A heart stimulator for left-ventricular pacing comprising: an electrode comprising a housing of an implantable device; an electrode comprising a coil; a left ventricular stimulation pulse generator connected to a single left ventricular electrode lead to stimulate a left ventricular myocardium and having one or more electrodes configured to deliver stimulation pulses to left ventricular myocardial heart tissue, said left ventricular stimulation pulse generator configured to generate and deliver at least one anodal and cathodal stimulation pulses of switchable polarity; and, a control unit connected to said left ventricular stimulation pulse generator and configured to control said left ventricular stimulation pulse generator to trigger generation of, and deliver stimulation pulses having a polarity controlled by said control unit, and to deliver supra-threshold stimulation pulses of opposite polarity comprising anodal and cathodal pulses, wherein said supra-threshold stimulation pulses are delivered between a different combination of two electrodes selected from said housing, coil and said one or more electrodes on said single left ventricular electrode lead, wherein the control unit is configured to control said left ventricular stimulation pulse generator so as to first deliver a first anodal stimulation pulse via a first combination of two electrodes that lead to capture a first left ventricular region, deliver a cathodal stimulation pulse via a second different combination of electrodes that immediately follows an anodal stimulation pulse to capture a second different left ventricular region, and deliver a second anodal pacing pulse before said cathodal pacing pulse via a third different electrode combination to capture a third different left ventricular region, and wherein the first anodal pacing pulse electrode combination and the second anodal pacing pulse electrode combination have no common electrode.