Patent ID: 7974691

Claim:
A machine-assisted method for monitoring a heart having first and second ventricles, the method comprising: measuring a first impedance signal, the first impedance signal being substantially indicative of a volume of the first ventricle as the first ventricle expands and contracts during a cardiac cycle of the heart; measuring a second impedance signal, the second impedance signal being substantially indicative of a volume of the second ventricle as the second ventricle expands and contracts during the cardiac cycle; computing a first slope of the first impedance signal at a first predetermined type point on the first impedance signal; computing a second slope of the second impedance signal at a second predetermined type point on the second impedance signal; and producing a first resynchronization index parameter as a function of a difference between the first and second slopes using a processor circuit, the first resynchronization index parameter indicative of a degree of cardiac mechanical synchrony or asynchrony between the first and second ventricles.