Patent ID: 7753855

Claim:
An implantable cardiac stimulation device that determines sudden cardiac death susceptibility of a heart, comprising: a first measuring circuit that measures intrinsic rest rate of the heart; a second measuring circuit that measures heart rate response of the heart to an increase in activity level; a third measuring circuit that measures heart rate recovery of the heart in response to a reduction of activity level; a memory for storing an intrinsic rest rate standard; a hemodynamic sensor adapted to provide a sensor indicated heart rate as a function of activity level; a controller adapted to determine a rate of change of the sensor indicated heart rate; a comparator that compares the measured intrinsic rest rate to the intrinsic rest rate standard, the measured heart rate response to a first rate of change of the sensor indicated heart rate, and the measured heart rate recovery to a second rate of change of the sensor indicated heart rate; and a response circuit that provides a predetermined response when the comparisons of the measured intrinsic rest rate, the measured heart rate response, and the measured heart rate recovery to indicate a susceptibility of sudden cardiac death.