Patent ID: 8649866

Claim:
A cardiac rhythm management system, comprising: an implantable cardiac pacing device having a plurality of electrodes; circuitry configured to output a plurality of cardiac pacing pulses through the electrodes, the plurality of cardiac pacing pulses being dependent on one or more pacing parameters; and a controller configured to determine a phrenic stimulation threshold based, at least in part, on the one or more signals indicative of sensed phrenic stimulation, and store information based on the determination, wherein when determining the phrenic stimulation threshold, the controller increasing a pacing parameter for one or more of the plurality of cardiac pacing pulses between delivery of at least some of the plurality of pacing pulses until the phrenic stimulation threshold is detected or a cardiac pacing pulse is delivered at a maximum amplitude and/or width that the cardiac pacing device is programmed to deliver.