Patent ID: 8055332

Claim:
A cardiac rhythm management system comprising: a plurality of implantable electrodes configured for sensing cardiac signals each approximating a surface electrocardiogram (ECG) vector; and an implantable medical device including: a programmable sensing circuit including a plurality of sensing channels providing for simultaneous sensing of the cardiac signals, the programmable sensing circuit configured to be programmed in response to an ECG acquisition command for a frequency response suitable for sensing the cardiac signals each approximating the surface ECG vector; a programmable sense interface configured to be programmed in response to the ECG acquisition command to provide electrical connections each between one sensing channel of the plurality of sensing channels and two electrodes selected from the plurality of implantable electrodes; and a processor configured to detect a predetermined cardiac condition and produce the ECG acquisition command in response to the predetermined cardiac condition being detected, wherein the plurality of implantable electrodes are incorporated onto the implantable medical device.