Patent ID: 7369892

Claim:
An implantable multi-chamber pacing system, comprising: an implantable cardiac rhythm management device including means for sensing atrial signals of a patient's heart and means for sensing ventricular signals of both ventricles of a patient's heart; a coronary sinus lead adapted to be coupled to the cardiac rhythm management device; means carried on the coronary sinus lead for both producing a signal representative of blood flow velocity through the coronary sinus and for delivering pacing pulses and sensing electrical cardiac activity; and means within the cardiac rhythm management device for analyzing the sensed ventricular signals, the sensed atrial signals and the coronary sinus blood flow velocity signal to provide an output signal in response to a decrease in blood flow velocity through the coronary sinus followed by an increase in elevation of an ST segment of a waveform derived from at least one of the sensed ventricular signals and the sensed atrial signals; and means within the cardiac rhythm management device responsive to the output signal for delivering therapy to the patient's heart as a function of sensed electrical activity of a patient's heart and coronary sinus blood flow velocity, wherein in the event that a sharp decrease in mean blood flow velocity through the coronary sinus is followed closely by marked increase in elevation of an ST segment of a waveform derived from at least one of the sensed ventricular signals and the sensed atrial signals, the output signal includes a declaration that both an occlusion-due-to-thrombus and that an impending myocardial infraction is likely.