Patent ID: 8265739

Claim:
A method, for use with an implantable medical device, for distinguishing cardiac ischemia from other conditions affecting a morphology of electrical cardiac signals sensed within a patient in which the device is implanted, the method comprising: monitoring electrical cardiac signals from a plurality of spatially-distinct locations within a heart of the patient; detecting changes in morphological features of the electrical cardiac signals indicative of possible cardiac ischemia within the patient; determining whether the changes in the morphological features are the result of spatially localized changes within a portion of the heart by: determining that the changes in the detected morphological features are global if the changes are detected in signals detected at each of the plurality of spatially-distinct locations; and determining that the changes in the detected morphological features are local if the changes are detected in signals detected at one or more, but not all, of the plurality of spatially-distinct locations; determining that the changes in morphological features of the electrical cardiac signals indicate cardiac ischemia if the changes are determined to be local; and determining that the changes in morphological features of the electrical cardiac signals indicate systemic influences if the changes are determined to be global.