Patent ID: 7751886

Claim:
An implantable cardiac stimulation device comprising: at least one lead adapted to be implanted proximate to the atrial walls of the heart; a plurality of electrodes coupled to the at least one lead so as to be spatially distributed with respect to the atrial walls of the heart, wherein the plurality of electrodes both sense electrical activity of the heart and also are adapted to provide therapeutic stimulation to the heart; a controller that receives signals indicative of the electrical activity of the heart from the plurality of electrodes and selects at least one electrode for the delivery of therapeutic stimulation to the heart, wherein the controller detects the existence of a supra-ventricular tachycardia event based upon the signals received from the plurality of electrodes and in response to detecting the existence of a supra-ventricular tachycardia, sequentially senses the supra-ventricular tachycardia from at least some of the plurality of electrodes that are spaced from each other and determines an appropriate electrical stimulation therapy, and selects at least one of the plurality of electrodes to deliver at least one electrical stimulation to the heart based upon the determined appropriate electrical stimulation therapy wherein the controller uses the signals from the plurality of electrodes that are spaced from each other to map location information about the origin of the supra-ventricular tachycardia.