Patent ID: 8634925

Claim:
A system for monitoring a patient's well being, the system comprising: a medical device adapted to be implanted in a patient, the device having circuitry configured to store signals collected from the patient and circuitry configured to trigger the medical device for collection of the signals from the patient in response to manual action of the patient; and a patient portable programmer, the programmer having first circuitry configured to communicate with the medical device wherein the signals stored by the medical device can be telemetered to the programmer upon interrogation by the programmer, the programmer having second circuitry configured to receive and store status information from the patient apart from the signals telemetered from the medical device, the status information stemming from manual input by the patient to the programmer via a keypad with a plurality of keys, wherein each of the keys is associated with a different one of a plurality of symptoms that the patient may experience, the status information indicating which one or more of the symptoms is being experienced by the patient, the symptoms comprising one or more of shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, and extreme tiredness.